IHouse Republicans approved legislation Friday that would slash nearly 40 percent of the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The funding bill, passed by a 213-203 vote, cuts 39 percent of the EPA’s budget and would be the smallest budget the agency has had in three decades. Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.) and Marc Molinaro (N.Y.) voted against the bill, while Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (Texas) was recorded as voting for it.

    • OutlierBlue
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      1 year ago

      With capitalism as the primary mover.

      It’s cheaper for manufacturing if they don’t want to worry about toxic waste products. The desire for more profit is behind this.

      • Immersive_Matthew@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        I think it is more too much centralization and a lack of governance which is even bad for capitalism as runaway capitalism sucks all the oxygen out of the air to everyone’s ultimate detriment even the billionaires.

      • fleabomber@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Are there any communists countries handling their demand for energy vs environmental concerns better than the capitalistic ones?

        • OutlierBlue
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          1 year ago

          It’s not an either-or situation. A good middle ground is a capitalist base with strong oversight. The same oversight they’re dismantling for profit.

        • tomatopathe@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          I’m not a communist because I think communism is a big failure.

          So is deregulation and unfettered capitalism. It’s why every time we deregulate and cut taxes, the wealth gap gets wider, life gets shitter for everyone but the wealthiest, etc…

          These are the same clowns who added most of the debt (Bush and Trump tax cuts) then complain about the debt when they’re no longer in power.

            • prole@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              Finland, for one.

              They’re obviously not communists, but somehow I have a feeling you’re the type of person who thinks they are.

              You will say they’re not for this argument, but when it suits you, you’ll call them that at the drop of a hat.

              • fleabomber@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                I was being a butthole and suggesting capitalism isn’t the Boogeyman we’ve all been searching for all along. I like Finland.

                • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  And yet everyone would admit when capitalism is left to its own devices. Unregulated, it absolutely is the boogeyman we’re all looking for. If it wasn’t, we would not be in such dire need of tightly regulating and controlling it.

        • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          There are no truly communist countries. There are state capitalist countries like China. But in terms of actual communism. The kind Karl Marx and his contemporaries envisioned. China is practically anti-communist. Also, if you’re looking for communist countries, you’re going to have a bad time. Communism is generally stateless and in the extremes even anti-state.

          • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Ironically yes. I say ironically, because China is not communist. It is state capitalist. Previously 10 to 15 years ago it was not uncommon to see pictures of major urban centers largely obscured by toxic haze. Things have actually improved significantly since then. China rapidly freezing out a lot of the old polluting coal infrastructure and going all in on solar renewables and even nuclear. This doesn’t excuse or justify the brutal social repression enforced by the dictator and his party. But I mean compare that with the United States where micro dick in the house and his cronies past a bill. Gutting funding for the already underfunded EPA by almost another 50%. At least to a nominal extent on environmental issues and energy policy. China is actually trending forward. Whereas America is yearning to go backwards.

    • 4am@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Why do you think they want the government out of the way?

      Capitalism is the cheat code to power. Who needs a government when you have unlimited money?