Not too surprisingly, large corporations, in particular, often favor the deregulation of their specific industry, mainly because they don’t want to have to answer to or to respond to some governmental regulatory authority, which in absence of such, thus makes it easier for those corporations to conduct their business with less constraints and restraints. The whole point of regulatory agencies, though, is to act on behalf of the general public for the protection and the good of that public and when those regulatory agencies are not in place, or have effectively been defanged, then businesses are prone to doing whatever that they so desire to do so as to increase their profit, market share, and the like. So, in effect, deregulation means that the government will take a “hands off” policy to how businesses conduct themselves, and thus essentially transfer to those businesses, a form of self-regulation, instead.
In the absence of prudent regulation, it is only a simple-minded person, that would believe that businesses, would somehow, be able to properly balance what they owe to the general public, against their typical overriding goal to maximize profits as well as to increase market share, above all else. That is to say, when businesses are not effectively regulated, then they are going to overly concentrate upon those things that matter most to their investors, executives, and to their corporate board, which is primarily to make money.
So then, given the fact, that regulation encompasses for those companies subject to such, devoting some of their finite resources and monies to adhere to such regulation, then this often means that the cost of that regulation for those companies, are ultimately going to be borne both by that corporation but also by all those that utilize those products, directly or indirectly. A sensible person, might just say, that this thus represents the reasonable cost of doing business, which takes fairly into account, that companies need to be regulated for the overall good of the public, for fairness, and for safety. That is to say, regulation could be said to be a form of refereeing, and the point of having a referee, is to see that the game is on the up and up, and therefore all is fair and square.
Unfortunately, the lust for money and profit, is so ingrained within so many of these companies, that they aren’t inclined to want to be regulated, or watched, or controlled, in any, way, form, or manner, unless these companies, themselves, control the rules and regulations that they are thus subject to. So then, deregulation is really just another means to achieve, for those companies previously subject to such regulation, to essentially regulate themselves, instead; in which, they try to justify such as being reasonable, because it will supposedly permit them to be more competitive, leaner, and the monies so saved, will be happily passed on to the consumer. In reality, though, deregulation, signifies that the people and their government, should take the restraints off, and thereby trust that these deregulated corporations which are driven by profit and market share, will somehow weigh correctly what they owe the people, the environment, and their government, which seems seriously ill-advised.