With another bad, very bad Supreme Court decision, it’s a sad day for consumers in the USA

Consumers are in a poor position in the economy, because corporations spend so much on advertising and they donate billions of dollars to influence government to do their bidding, making products and services more expensive and less safe.

Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has made another decision, perhaps one of the most devastating ever, which will reduce consumer “power” even more.

The court rejected a decadeslong legal precedent Friday, reducing the power of executive agencies and endangering thousands of regulations by transferring power from the executive branch to Congress and the courts. In a majority opinion, the justices said that “agencies have no special competence” and that judges should determine the meaning of federal laws.

Called Chevron deference, from Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, it’s one of the most referred to in American law. In 1984, a Supreme Court decision stated that when Congress passes a law that lacks specifics, courts need to give wide leeway to decisions made by the federal agencies that carry out that law. The court’s thinking was that scientists, economists, and other agency specialists have more knowledge than judges in determining regulations and that the executive branch is also more accountable to voters.

Gutting Chevron deference will harm the public, the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards said Friday in a statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The court Friday, once again, sided with big corporations trying to weaken agencies’ ability to issue strong rules to protect the public, the coalition said.

The court overturned a 40-year-old legal precedent that respects Congress’ choice to delegate policymaking authority to subject-matter specialists at federal agencies. These specialists – not judges – should make decisions about how best to carry out a statute, since they have real-world experience.

“The Supreme Court today overturned a decades-old legal precedent that will significantly undermine government experts trying to protect consumers, workers, the environment, and the public’s health and safety,” Rachel Weintraub, executive director of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards said in a statement. “The public expects our government to protect us from dangerous products, polluted air and water, unsafe workplaces, and fraudulent markets. This decision will harm all of us for as long as it stands.”

“This decision is a gift to big corporations, making it easier for them to challenge rules to ensure clean air and water, safe workplace and products, and fair commercial and financial practices,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen and co-chair of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards. “But the decision is no excuse for regulators to stop doing their jobs. They must continue to follow the law and uphold their missions to protect consumers, workers, and our environment.”

“To best safeguard consumers, protections need to be based on research and data, not on the whims of judges who have no expertise on these products and services,” said Susan Weinstock, president and CEO of the Consumer Federation of America and co-chair of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards. “We will all pay the price of today’s terrible decision with our dollars, our health, and our lives.”

In response to the decision, Congress should enact Chevron deference into law by passing the Stop Corporate Capture Act, the coalition said. The bill will modernize, improve, and strength the regulatory system to better protect the public. It would ensure greater public input into regulatory decisions, promote scientific integrity, and restore the government’s ability to deliver results for workers, consumers, public health, and the environment.

Effective regulations are important for consumers. Under the Trump administration, I wrote again and again about how the federal government wasn’t enforcing laws and regulations. Among the most harmful were air pollution regulations that would have stopped thousands of illnesses and even deaths.

So, if you want less government, vote Republican in November for the party that will allow strollers and outdoor lounges that amputate fingers and sleep items, often made in China, that will smother infants.

I wonder if these conservative justices ever think about their families and how the settled law they are continually overturning could harm their family members. Think amputated fingers, smothered infants, and death from lung issues caused by air pollution.