Anarcho-capitalists and too many libertarians and tea-partiers in this county want to give business a carte blanche. Apparently, these folks don't read the newspapers or are beneficiaries. This includes freedom to pollute the environment, sell knowingly dangerous products (e.g. autos with defective ignition switches, dangerous, airbags), sell disease-carrying food, defraud consumers, etc. Insider trading and white-collar crime are rampant. Caveat emptor is an excuse for all sorts of illegal and unethical conduct. Corporate America and ethically challenged business people love these ideologues and politicians. The try to block and repeal reform. Anything which interferes with the ability to make easy money at huge social and economic costs is resisted. Efforts are underway to undercut regulation attempting to reign-in too-big-to-fail banks and wall street giants. Here's just one example.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/11/opinion/isnt-honesty-the-best-policy.html
Here's 10 more examples.
http://www.criminaljusticeusa.com/blog/2011/10-white-collar-crime-cases-that-made-headlines/
Free markets don't always result in the best economic result.
“Markets are at the center of every successful economy. But unfettered markets often do not serve society well. Over the past 200 years, economic theory and historical experience have shown that financial markets often fail to perform their essential functions of managing risk and allocating capital well, with disastrous social and economic consequences.”— Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz" [I strongly recommend you look at the entire linked article. http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/growth-strategies/2016/03/is-government-regulation-really-bad-for-business.html
Yes, businesses and corporations have rights, but no right is absolute.
Yes, there's lots of bad regulation. Much of it is deigned to stifle lawful competition. Many agencies have been captured by the entities they are supposed to be regulating. We need honest regulators and rational regulation that will both protect the public and not place economically harmful restrictions on business. There's no need to throw the baby out with the bath water.
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