The Regulatory State is Liberty’s Nemesis
FreedomWorks Foundation’s regulatory reform project is focused not just on mobilizing our activists to engage in advocacy against particularly egregious proposed regulations, but also on educating citizens about the threats posed by the federal regulatory state. The project’s educational mission was made easier by the publication earlier this year of “Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State,” a book by Dean Reuter, Vice President and Director of Practice Groups for the Federalist Society, and John Yoo, Emanuel Heller Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.
Mr. Reuter, a guest on FreedomWorks’ March 29 Super Activist phone call, describes his new book as follows:
“Now more than ever people are noting that our government, large enough to give many people everything they want, is powerful enough to take it all away in the blink of an eye. Liberty’s Nemesis not only documents the astounding and dangerous growth of the federal government, it explains exactly how and why the government has more power today than ever before, and why our everyday lives are ruled by bureaucrats from Washington, D.C. The book includes contributions from 35 experts, veterans from all branches of state and federal government. Indeed, many contributors to the book are heads or former heads of the agencies, commissions and bureaus they critique. If you are a fan of big government, this book is not for you. But if you find yourself wondering how anything constructive gets done in this country under today’s oppressive regulatory regime, if you have real concerns about the size and scope of government, you can learn more about it in this book.”
“Should we be concerned that the agency charged with ensuring fair lending practices and helping you manage your money can’t manage its own budget? Should we be bothered that a powerful senior agency official, a regional director, sees himself as a Roman conqueror, who’s favorite tactic is, in his words, to "crucify" the first five members of the regulated community he encounters so all the others meekly fall into line? Is the federal government helping to spawn unrest on college campuses across the country with its policies on hate crimes? How and why are your religious liberties being threatened? What can be done about government agencies using their power to target political "enemies," disfavored businesses, or your constitutional rights? How does Congress get away with delegating such sweeping lawmaking powers to unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats, and why don’t they rein in wayward agencies by providing meaningful oversight?”
“Liberty’s Nemesis, covering dozens of your least favorite agencies, is a systematic, insiders’ telling of the tale of government gone wild. And in describing the problem, Liberty’s Nemesis becomes a roadmap for curing the woes that afflict our country. The book offers concrete and workable solutions for returning our country to a Constitutional form of government we all deserve, and that the Founders envisioned.”
