The second paragraph is especially funny.
Davis, Bob. 2004. "With White House Ex-Staffers, Mercatus Helps Zap Codes It Says Restrict Business." Wall Street Journal (16 July): p. A 1. "In 1998, Wendy Gramm, who headed the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs during the Reagan years, started Mercatus's regulatory review group. She hired a small staff of regulatory experts to work with economists at George Mason and elsewhere. Ms. Gramm, wife of former Texas Republican Sen. Phil Gramm, says Mercatus differs from special interests because it analyzes "all impacts" of rules with the public interest in mind. Over the past six years, Mercatus has filed 100 comments to 31 agencies on rules ranging from auto safety to financial regulation." "Mercatus analysts sometimes contort themselves to build a case against regulation. Ms. Dudley and Ms. Gramm criticized one EPA rule to reduce surface ozone because the EPA didn't take into account that clearer skies would increase the rate of skin cancer. Later, two other Mercatus scholars blasted a different EPA rule on diesel engines, arguing that it was bad because it would increase surface ozone in some cities. This time they didn't say anything about the cancer-prevention benefits of more smog. "We didn't go to the next step," Ms. Dudley acknowledges." -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
