Paul Krugman makes another foray into the food safety issue today. His logic of blaming free market advocates for the failures of a regulatory agency is completely absurd — especially since the regulatory captures he notes in the article are exactly the kinds of things that make libertarians skeptical of government regulation in the first place.
Moreover, it’s not clear that the food safety crisis Krugman writes about has even occurred. News reports about food safety issues are certainly prominent, but according to Alex Tabarrok, the numbers tell a different story. The CDC’s data on foodborne disease outbreaks show a decline from 1998-2006.
Krugman’s previous column on food safety was covered here. Sadly, the intervening year hasn’t made him a better writer.
A call for effective regulation is not the least bit absurd. Unless, of course, you believe that effective regulation is an oxymoron - a belief you generally seem to hold and I do not hold.
Krugman blames the Republicans who cut the funding for the FDA, thereby denying it the resources to do its job effectively. I don’t know if you call the Republicans “free market advocates” but I’m pretty sure an anti-regulatory ideology was the reason behind the cut in funding. So, yes, I think it’s logical to blame them.
Perhaps he’s wrong to equate free-market advocates with business interests. That’s a distinction I know you hold dear. (Although I’m not even sure he does that. After all, Krugman points out how some decisions undermine the free market, like that thing about testing one’s own beef.) Perhaps the distinction is between those who say government regulation is bad and believe it…and those who only say it until they control the government regulation and *$#% it up.
Comment by Ben — June 13, 2008 @ 4:19 pm
Yes, it’s the latter point I am making. Right or wrong, it’s perfectly reasonable to call for more effective regulations. And it might be reasonable to blame Republicans for current failures. It’s his use of the fact that regulations are being subverted exactly the way free market advocates predict they would as a criticism of free markets that I find objectionable.
Comment by Jacob Grier — June 13, 2008 @ 4:24 pm