Deregualtion, no regulation meme

[Ladewig]

Do you think most of the people who responded to this questionnaire are not in fact also concerned about things such as the safety of their workers, consumer safety, etc?

Hard to say.
The first issue is how well these business leaders can accurately estimate regulatory risk. A clear majority of Americans believe airline travel is much riskier than automobile travel, but the actual figures indicate the opposite. Is there evidence showing that most of these executives are good at accurately comparing 10 widely divergent risks?

Second. People make wildly different assumptions about topics as ambiguous as regulatory risks. Some people might read the survey results and conclude that executives are worried about how much it will cost to add finger guards to the metal stamping machines. Others will read the survey results and conclude that the executives are afraid of how many bean counters and filing clerks they will have to hire to comply with regulatory record keeping.

I agree with those who conclude that the survey results are of exceptionally limited value.

ETA: I forgot to add that different industries view regulatory risk and regulatory enforcement from polar opposite perspectives. I am not that impressed with corporate executives in the mining industry. I have repeatedly suggested that the top brass of all mining companies have their offices actually in the mines. Given how easy it would be to run electricity and communication cables into the mine, there is no real reason that the people deciding how much money to spend on compliance to safety standards do not share the risks associated with compliance to safety standards.

 

[paulhutch]

The PDF of the survey results makes it clear to me that the survey emphasis is on global business and therefore dealing with global regulation. Wildly varying and continually changing international regulations are definitely a big concern for any global company. Where I work and from talking with our vendors and customers US regulations are no big deal it's the EU, China and other international regulations that create all the headaches.

 

[3point14]

Yes I do. From my experience in business a large percentage are concerned. They are normal caring human beings like you or me.
Even from my times as a laborer. Strictly anecdotal I know.
Of course there are people who are not. To them most regulations would not matter.

S'funny, my experience of working for multinational corporations over the years is that those at the coal face are just numbers and are leaned upon, used and discarded whenever is convenient for the business. Health and safety considerations at work are only undertaken because the legislation demands it. This is because the people making the decisions are so far removed from the people who do the actual work that they only ever see them as numbers on a page, not people.

Just my experience.