4 ms·

If this is an executive order then it can be struck down as soon as the next president is sworn in. Executive orders are easy-come, easy-go ...

dkjaudyeqooe 6y ago
Indeed, this is just mindless showboating. One day Trump will refer to this as some sort of achievement or having struck out at "the enemy". That is the point.
peteretep 6y ago
While true, it looks pretty reasonable to me, and I'm not sure why Biden would knock it down? The weirdest thing about it is why a lame-duck administration with a day or two to go is issuing reasonable-looking executive orders.
- chris11 6y ago
  I'm not quite sure what specific problem is being solved. Part a sounds ok, but sounds more political than practical. I don't like requiring proof that a person knowingly broke a regulation to criminally charge them. I can think of a few examples where that would have been good. But I think generally the US doesn't prosecute large scale violations enough. Deep Water Horizon, the Flint water crisis, the housing crisis, and the Volvo emissions scandal are all examples where almost no one went to jail. This seems like it would cripple environmental protection and make corporate legal defense much easier. It might have some benefit for small businesses. But it doesn't protect against heavy fines. And my current assumption is agencies are already not likely to settle with criminal charges.
  - peteretep 6y ago
    This is the article (from a decade ago) that sticks in my mind: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2010/07/22/rough-justice https://www.economist.com/leaders/2010/07/22/rough-justice > America imprisons people for technical violations of immigration laws, environmental standards and arcane business rules. So many federal rules carry criminal penalties that experts struggle to count them. Many are incomprehensible. Few are ever repealed, though the Supreme Court recently pared back a law against depriving the public of “the intangible right of honest services”, which prosecutors loved because they could use it against almost anyone.
- dkjaudyeqooe 6y ago
  Any presidential order written in the transition period should be reversed. Trump is ignoring an accepted norm.
PixyMisa 6y ago
Not always. I think the point is to issue common-sense executive orders and force the Democrats to justify striking them down.
- taurath 6y ago
  “Knowing nothing” being a preferred defense is an interesting tactic - you end up in a place where willful ignorance is preferable to knowledge. Wonder which side benefits from that

dkjaudyeqooe 6y ago

Indeed, this is just mindless showboating. One day Trump will refer to this as some sort of achievement or having struck out at "the enemy". That is the point.

peteretep 6y ago

While true, it looks pretty reasonable to me, and I'm not sure why Biden would knock it down? The weirdest thing about it is why a lame-duck administration with a day or two to go is issuing reasonable-looking executive orders.

chris11 6y ago
I'm not quite sure what specific problem is being solved. Part a sounds ok, but sounds more political than practical. I don't like requiring proof that a person knowingly broke a regulation to criminally charge them. I can think of a few examples where that would have been good. But I think generally the US doesn't prosecute large scale violations enough. Deep Water Horizon, the Flint water crisis, the housing crisis, and the Volvo emissions scandal are all examples where almost no one went to jail. This seems like it would cripple environmental protection and make corporate legal defense much easier. It might have some benefit for small businesses. But it doesn't protect against heavy fines. And my current assumption is agencies are already not likely to settle with criminal charges.
- peteretep 6y ago
  This is the article (from a decade ago) that sticks in my mind: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2010/07/22/rough-justice https://www.economist.com/leaders/2010/07/22/rough-justice > America imprisons people for technical violations of immigration laws, environmental standards and arcane business rules. So many federal rules carry criminal penalties that experts struggle to count them. Many are incomprehensible. Few are ever repealed, though the Supreme Court recently pared back a law against depriving the public of “the intangible right of honest services”, which prosecutors loved because they could use it against almost anyone.
dkjaudyeqooe 6y ago
Any presidential order written in the transition period should be reversed. Trump is ignoring an accepted norm.

PixyMisa 6y ago

Not always. I think the point is to issue common-sense executive orders and force the Democrats to justify striking them down.

taurath 6y ago
“Knowing nothing” being a preferred defense is an interesting tactic - you end up in a place where willful ignorance is preferable to knowledge. Wonder which side benefits from that