SlowpokeBlog

I've actually been sitting on the idea of having a real government regulate our current fake government for quite some time. A recent example of our fake government at work: the removal of SEC Chair William Donaldson because he was actually doing his job. Heaven forbid the head of a regulatory agency actually regulate anything! By looking out for small investors and pursuing reform, he ruffled feathers among the Republican Elite, and was duly replaced with an oily yes-man. Doesn't anyone remember Enron? All those accounting scandals? I guess not.

As I drew this cartoon, it occurred to me that the word "regulation" is a frame in and of itself. Maybe Lakoff touched on this -- I can't remember -- but the word regulation conjures associations of rules, parental control, the reining in of "freedom." Who wants to be regulated? Not me! On the flip side, "deregulation" sounds like a joyous release from the bondage of red tape. Somehow these have become the standard terms used by journalists, and are often employed by Democrats and progressives themselves. I propose a new terminology: "protecting freedom." Because when a deregulated marketplace results in Enron-style accounting fraud, and people lose their pensions, they're losing freedom. William Donaldson fought for a freedom-protected marketplace; that's why he got canned.

A Government to Regulate the Government