More Populist Deregulation

Co-blogger Bryan Caplan had an excellent post on December 1 in which he argued that there is some low-hanging for regulations that could be eliminated. It’s low-hanging in the sense that a strong can be made for deregulation and that the case could be popular. That doesn’t mean that the deregulatory changes are popular now; instead, they could be made popular if Republicans and even some moderate Democrats step up and make a strong relentless case.

I have more such deregulations to add.

1. Allow liquor to be sold across state lines.

2. Extend the Covid-inspired deregulation of telemedicine, including across state lines.

3. End or curtail asset forfeiture when the person or company whose assets are forfeited is not charged with a crime. (The Institute for Justice has done some excellent work on this. Check out this amazing video. It caused me to get off my duff and send a contribution that’s a little higher than my usual to IJ.)

4. Repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which creates huge hassles for Americans living abroad in return for what appears to be (I’m not sure) very little additional tax revenue.

5. Deregulate shower heads.

I think that with a little more thought, I could easily come up with a dozen more.

How about you? What do you think would be candidates for deregulation that fit two criteria: (1) they would matter for people’s lives, and (2) the proposals are popular or could be made popular with some relentless advocacy?