ICYMI: AFFM Executive Director David Ibsen Highlights Survey Results Supporting Free-Market Principles in Washington Times Opinion

 “Lawmakers of both parties should seize this opportunity to codify objective regulatory standards and protect private businesses from politicized regulatory pressure. This is what the American people want.”

In case you missed it, Americans for Free Markets (AFFM) Executive Director David Ibsen authored an op-ed in The Washington Times that highlights recent survey results showing strong bipartisan support for free-market principles.

Financial Regulatory Supervision: The survey found that 82 percent of voters believe private businesses should be permitted to make their own decisions without concern that federal regulators will retaliate against them for political reasons. This broad level of support extends across party lines. Additionally, 91 percent of voters agree that federal regulators should enforce banking laws through objective, non-politicized standards.

“The message is clear: Americans want a level playing field where free markets can thrive and where government’s role is to set clear, objective rules, not to pick winners and losers.” – D. Ibsen

What Voters Support: 89 percent of respondents believe that a prosperous free-market economy depends on clear rules that are consistently applied and oppose government interventions that reward or punish businesses for political reasons.

“Businesses depend on clear rules, and they deserve consistent application from one administration to the next, no matter which political party it may represent. When regulatory standards shift with the political winds, everyone loses.” – D. Ibsen

What Congress Should Do: 72 percent of the survey respondents also support President Trump’s executive order to prevent the use of financial regulation as a political weapon, while only 12 percent of Americans believe that regulators should be able to allow their subjective opinions to influence their supervisory decisions.

“Congress should enact legislation that ensures objective regulatory standards are consistently applied, transparently enforced and free from political considerations… so that regulators may not impose their own political preferences on the businesses they oversee.” – D. Ibsen

Ibsen concludes by calling on Congress in both parties to listen to the American people and codify these objective, regulatory standards into law to protect businesses from politicized pressure.

Read David Ibsen’s full piece in The Washington Times HERE.