Deregulation Kills: The Names, The Deaths, The Blood Money
This is not metaphor. It is not theory. It is fact: deregulation kills. Over the last 20 years, specific politicians, corporations, and financial backers have dismantled protections that once saved lives. People died. Profits soared. Every decision has names attached
Here they are:
Clean Power Plan Repeal: Trump, McConnell, Murray, Peabody
In 2017, President Donald Trump, EPA Administrators Scott Pruitt and Andrew Wheeler, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell repealed the Clean Power Plan.
Coal industry interests like Murray Energy, led by Robert Murray, lobbied for the repeal. The EPA’s own Regulatory Impact Analysis confirmed that scrapping the plan would cause up to 1,400 additional premature deaths per year from air pollution.
Who profited: Murray Energy, Peabody Energy, their shareholders.
Who paid: Communities near coal plants—dead from heart disease, asthma, and other preventable illnesses.
Bank Deregulation That Fueled Collapse: SVB, Crapo, Trump
In 2018, Senator Mike Crapo (R‑ID) and President Trump passed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Seventeen Senate Democrats helped pass it.
The law raised the oversight threshold from $50 billion to $250 billion—exempting Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), whose CEO Greg Becker lobbied for the change. The Congressional Budget Office warned this would raise the risk of mid-size bank failures.
In March 2023, SVB collapsed, triggering panic and losses for businesses and workers.
Who profited: SVB executives, venture capitalists, shareholders.
Who suffered: Small businesses, workers, and the public—left exposed by deregulation.
Rail Deregulation and the East Palestine Disaster
In 2017, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, with support from Senator John Thune (R‑SD), repealed the electronic brake safety rule after lobbying by Norfolk Southern, BNSF, and other rail companies.
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing toxic chemicals. The NTSB confirmed the train lacked modern brakes. Experts cited in The Lever said the disaster could have been mitigated.
At least seven deaths have been reported. Hundreds more now face long-term health risks.
Who profited: Rail companies, shareholders including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
Who paid: East Palestine families—those poisoned, displaced, or dead.
Brain Damage for Profit: Chlorpyrifos Scandal
In 2017, Scott Pruitt’s EPA reversed an impending ban on chlorpyrifos—a pesticide linked to brain damage in children. Dow AgroSciences (now Corteva) had donated over $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.
The EPA’s Scientific Advisory Panel concluded there was no safe exposure level for children. Research from Columbia University showed permanent IQ loss in exposed populations.
Who profited: Corteva, agribusiness giants, shareholders.
Who paid: Farmworker children—many Latino, many poor—who suffered preventable brain damage.
Worker Safety Repeal: Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces
In 2017, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R‑NC), Sen. Ron Johnson (R‑WI), and President Trump repealed the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule. The rule would have barred federal contracts for companies with serious labor violations.
The repeal was pushed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Lockheed Martin, Bechtel, and others. Many of these firms had prior safety violations, documented in a Senate HELP Committee report.
The AFL-CIO’s 2022 report confirms that federal contracts continued to flow to dangerous employers. Workers like Carlos Montoya died in accidents that could have been prevented.
Who profited: Federal contractors.
Who died: American workers whose names rarely make headlines.
The Pattern is Clear
This is not theoretical. It is public record. Every rollback detailed above:
Names the politicians and corporations responsible.
Names the communities and workers who paid the price.
Cites official data, government reports, or peer-reviewed science.
I am not alleging criminal intent. I am stating the documented consequences of decisions made by identifiable individuals and institutions.
Sources
A whole different topic, but somehow related to the matter on hand, what about gun control?
When it comes to deaths, you need look no further than the lack of controls that allow automatic weapons to be bought and used by lunatics. The death toll is a living, tangible count that seems to grow bigger every year.
And yet, the very people making these decisions live surrounded by armies of agents protecting them and their families from the violence the rest of the country faces daily. One wonders how they would react if it were their own husbands, wives, or children who fell victim. Would they still offer the same empty prayers, or would they finally grow a conscience?
But then there is the lure of money and politicians use the power they have to make even more money by pandering to the NRA and lining their pockets. Their refrain is “ Guns don’t kill”.
Guns may not kill on their own, but they sure make it a lot easier. Other countries have people with mental health issues and anger management issues and crime too; they just don’t hand them AR-15s.
I live in Australia where in 1996 the Port Arthur massacre took place in Tasmania, 35 people were killed and 23 injured by a lone gunman with semi-automatic rifles. This was a turning point for us. In its aftermath, Australia introduced strict gun control laws, including a nationwide buyback of semi-automatic and automatic weapons and tighter licensing.
Australian politicians from across the political spectrum took swift, decisive action.
Prime Minister John Howard (a conservative) led a bipartisan effort to implement strict gun control laws within weeks.
– They introduced the National Firearms Agreement (NFA), which:
• banned semi-automatic rifles and shotguns,
• enforced strict licensing and background checks,
• required genuine reasons for gun ownership (self-defense was not accepted),
• and established a mandatory gun buyback program.
– Around 650,000 firearms were bought back and destroyed, reducing the number of guns in circulation by about 20%.
– States and territories aligned their laws with the federal framework, showing cooperation across political divides despite opposition from some gun lobby groups.
The outcome:
Since then, Australia has had no mass shootings of that scale, and gun deaths (both homicides and suicides) significantly decreased. The policy became a global example of effective gun reform triggered by a tragedy and enabled by political will prioritizing public safety over ideology.
When you limit access to weapons designed for mass killing, you reduce the risk of mass killings. It’s not about taking away freedom; it’s about protecting lives.