Conservative thinking on regulations defective

Who says “irony is dead?” Consider “New York Times covers over-regulation or ‘kludge,’” Opinion, Jan. 1, by Mona Charen. In it she recites the familiar conservative litany of how bad regulations are, and how they shackle business and if only they would be removed business would thrive and jobs be created.

As an example, restaurants don’t need food safety regulations because if restaurants serve bad food the word will get out and the restaurant will go out of business.

Yet how ironic it is that only a few pages away, the AJC reports on restaurant safety. The reports are twice per week, and are usually led by a restaurant that failed inspection. That means that at least 100 restaurants in metro Atlanta alone fail inspections each year. By conservative thinking, that should never happen.

I do not believe any lawmaker of any party or political persuasion goes to work thinking “What rules can we pass today?” I believe they go to work thinking “What problems can we solve?” Regulations come from that thinking. Over time, reviews may be a good idea, but regulations were passed for reasons.

MIKE CANFIELD, ATLANTA

Trump’s handling of dictator long overdue

Trump is handling the North Korean dictator problem the way we should have handled Hitler in 1938. After he invaded the Slavic countries and began moving into France, our so-called defenders of the free world turned their collective backs on millions of innocent people.

Trump is the leader we needed after the line up of feckless leaders we’ve had to endure over the last two decades.

Previous presidents did nothing but acquiesce throwing money at dictators in an attempt to appease and keep them quiet until our president left office.

TOM GAMBESKI, CANTON

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The burial mounds at the Ocmulgee National Monument, near Macon, were built by Native Americans during the Mississippian period, around 1000 CE. The park, designated a National Historic Park, is part of the rich cultural resources of the Ocmulgee River Corridor. (Courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation)

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