Reduced Regulation Ahead
Government reform. Deregulation. Those were major initiatives of the Carter Administration. And they’ve become a trend that’s been building, growing and turning into an attitude in Washington. An attitude that should be welcomed by ski area operators.
Certainly, it was good news when Roy Feuchter, director of recreation management at the U.S. Forest Service here, told Ski Area Management last spring that his office really doesn’t want to be in the business of regulating lift prices.
“We don’t want to be a regulatory agency,” Feuchter said then. “We would like for the marketplace to settle the price.”
That attitude is what prompted the Congress earlier this year to tackle the Federal Trade Commission and substantially restrict its activities. After months of hearings and millions of words of testimony, Congress decided that any regulation adopted by the FTC would be subject to Congressional veto. And it restricted some specific actions in which the agency is currently involved.
One of them is the FTC’s investigation involving the establishment of product standards. Under a proposed rule, the process of developing standaards for thousands of products—including lifts or bindings, for example—would be vastly opened up to public participation. That could mean higher end costs for products and delays in the development of new innovations. But it could also mean improved competition in many industries and reduced opportunity for the development of standards that would arbitrarily preclude one manufacturer or another from marketing his product.
When it restricted the standards and certifications proceeding, Congress said the FTC must confine itself to anti-trust activities only—not those aimed at consumer protection. In other words, Congress told the FTC: “Stick with your responsibility and guard against anti-competitive practices. Don’t try to be a super consumer protection outfit.
The action against the FTC was taken because the politicians in Washington are sensitive to what’s going on back home—especially in an election year. And they know that back home, people are tired of the increasing and unrelenting intrusion of the government in their lives and businesses.
Now with the elections closing in, both parties are taking stronger than ever positions on the subject.
The Democrats point to the deregulation of the airline industry, which has generated competition, as a major achievement. Rail deregulation will probably also be an achievement of the current Congress. And major reform of trucking regulations to improve competition was accomplished.
But the Republicans, in their party’s platform, call for further efforts. “Agencies should be made to justify every official form and filing requirement,” the platform declares. “We believe that the marketplace, rather than the bureaucrats, should regulate management decisions.”
As a result, it’s likely that 1981 and 1982 will continue the boomlet towards a reduction in government paperwork requirements on business and a lessening of red tape.
Washington Whispers: The California RARE II bill has cleared the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee and the outlook for final Congressional approval is bright, according to our sources.
The bill resolves potential problems for ski areas, allowing for development at Mt. Shasta, for example, as well as Mammoth Mountain. In fact, all potential areas for ski area expansion fall outside areas designated as wilderness in the House bill.
The industry can thank the efforts of Bob Roberts of the Sierra Area Operators, Nancy Ingelsbee of the Far West Ski Association and Joe Prendergast at the American Ski Federation.
But some sharp strategy worked out by the timber industry also played a crucial role. The bill includes language that allows the Forest Service to issue permits for areas found unsuitable for wilderness and it negates a California court decision that prevented the Forest Service from using its RARE II procedures in California. The timber industry helped make sure that language was in the bill.
What about Taxes? Look for Congress to pass a significant tax cut this year before they hit the road for election campaigning in October. Likely components of the package: Reduction of personal income tax rate, but less than Reagan’s proposed 10 percent. Credits for employers and employees against scheduled Social Security Tax hikes. Some form of accelerated depreciation allowance for business aimed to generating investment and expansion.
