Gina McCarthy is wrong for the EPA

There is no question that we must be good stewards of the planet that God gave us. But, those who learn from history know that EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulation is an expensive and inefficient way to protect our environment.

Innovation is best driven by consumer preferences and entrepreneurial spirit, not forced by regulation and central planning. While regulation does drive some innovation, the net effect of the EPA’s regulation is job and income losses and constrained innovation by companies to meet consumer desires. Government-driven innovation almost always results in products that don't work, that fail prematurely, and that don't meet consumer needs. EPA-driven fuel-economy and emissions standards for automobiles are a prime example.

An example of how the EPA has adversely distorted the market is the SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle). Many Americans drive large gas-hog four-wheel-drive SUVs -- not because they need the off-road capability, but because they need the space and payload capacity. They need to move family, groceries, soccer teams, Cub Scout packs, camp trailers, ski boats, etc. A generation ago, Americans did all these chores with relatively more efficient and cheaper "station wagons". The traditional station wagon has been so crippled by EPA-mandated 'innovations" that it no longer meets the needs of many American families. So, Americans have resorted to SUVs -- trucks in disguise -- to meet their transportation needs.

If not disbanded altogether, the EPA clearly needs to take a different path -- a path which must be based on the US Constitution and the limits it imposes on central-government power. More specifically, our laws and regulations must come from the legislative branch of the central government -- not from unelected and unaccountable career bureaucrats.

Obama has nominated career bureaucrat Gina McCarthy to run the EPA. By her actions and her words, she has made it clear that she wants to micromanage American life. She wants to make the rules in defiance of Congress. She said,

But I will tell you that I didn't go to Washington to sit around and wait for Congressional action. Never done that before, and don’t plan to in the future.

This activist mentality is not appropriate for any federal employee, especially an agency administrator. The EPA’s regulatory overreach has already surpassed every other agency in abusing legal authority to the detriment of the economy, jobs, and Liberty. The EPA desperately needs a leader who will rein in the EPA, not one who seeks to use it to defy the elected representatives of the People.

Gina McCarty must be denied any position of influence or authority in the central government.