Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the Senate Floor on 11-13-12:
Republicans ‘have yet to produce a single shred of evidence that the regulations they hate so much do the broad economic harms they claim. That’s because there is none…’
In a Senate speech, Reid said the Bureau of Labor Statistics has concluded ‘only a tiny fraction of layoffs have anything at all to do with tighter regulation.’
‘Last year, only three-tenths of 1 percent of people who lost their jobs were let go principally because of government regulation or intervention,’ Reid said. ‘On the other hand, a quarter of them were laid off because of lack of business.
Really, Mr. Reid? How about the EPA regulations that have already closed multiple coal-fired power plants, and will likely close them all, making good on Mr. Obama’s threat to bankrupt the coal industry? I suspect a job or two has been and will be lost there, and directly due to unnecessary regulations.
Hot Air provides an additional, more specific example of a Denver maker of cured meats that is going to be forced to close due to USDA regulations that would force them to taint their meats:
In August, the USDA imposed additional requirements on Il Mondo Vecchio’s production methods. After two months of sharing information and collaboration back and forth between Il Mondo Vecchio and the USDA as well as various attempts to modify the production methods,’ the owners announced, ‘Il Mondo Vecchio has determined that the impact of the regulatory requirements on dry cured sausage products was detrimental to the quality of the product and therefore, Mark and Gennaro are forced to close the[ir] doors.’
This conflict between modern regulations and traditional methods is something DeNittis thought for a time he could navigate.
‘We adhere to Old World techniques of natural process while following New World regulations,’ Il Mondo Vecchio’s website states.
When it comes to Old World methods, I think it would be hard to find a better example of a traditional, conscientious, sustainable, and local producer than Il Mondo Vecchio.
Complaints against Il Mondo Veccio? None. Number of citizens sickened or injured by their products? None. Ever.
Jobs destroyed by Obama Administration regulations: Tens of thousands and rising–dramatically–daily.
Harry Reid? Demagogue and buffoon.
Stately McDaniel Manor 
Il Mondo Vecchio: We make safe stuff!
USDA: Prove it.
Il Mondo Vecchio: Um….. no.
Granted, gross over simplification, but that was the meat of the matter (CWIDT?). If Il Mondo Vecchio is given the chance to challenge, but declines, this sounds more and more like a “principal of the matter” closing of a business than actual business decision.
Small scale, its stinks. But, consider the consequences when not applied on a large scale. Rather than try and hold EVERYONE to a high bar to clear, perhaps scaling requirements to the impact of a company’s distribution would be a better idea?
More like:
Il Mondo Vecchio: We make safe stuff!
USDA: Prove it. Just keep in mind that we don’t have to accept the proof.
Il Mondo Vecchio: Um….. no.
http://reason.com/archives/2012/11/10/the-ugliness-of-unmaking-sausages/1
Dear Bookman:
Welcome to SMM and thanks for your comment. Having grown up in agriculture country, I know beyond any doubt that the USDA does not enjoy a reputation for honesty and even-handed application of the law. I do not know every detail of the Denver case, nor do I intend to investigate it intensively. The primary thrust of the article was Senator’s Reid’s lunatic contention. However, I understand well why a local producer might not have every confidence that the federal government is willing and able to fairly examine and pronounce upon their wares, and among the things none of us know is the past contacts Il Mondo Vecchio has had with the USDA. Having a lifetime of experience with federal law and regulations, I also understand that a great many are not only unnecessary, but actively destructive to those the government claims to want to protect, to say nothing of the economy.
Just a few things to keep in mind…
Thanks again!