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The fact that a conservative approach to Wall Street — down with regulations! down with oversight! — has led to America’s financial mess appears to be sinking in. But don’t forget that deregulation has screwed up much more than Wall Street. The conservative hands-off approach has neutered nearly every science-based agency in the federal government these last eight years. That’s the point of Chris Mooney’s “Return of the Geeks.” Check it out. No surprise, Bush Administration hacks prioritized deregulation of industry over science and oversight, to disastrous results.

Conservatives love to slam “big government.” But the lack of effective regulation and oversight has led to problems in a number of areas, many of which Mother Jones has covered. Check out “The Ungreening of America: How the Bush Administration Is Rolling Back 30 Years of Environmental Progress.” Also, you can read about the pernicious effects of deregulation in the areas of airline safety, food safety, the telecom industry, the FDA and food imports, mining, and nuclear garbage and nuclear safety.

Maybe it’s time for regulation to make a comeback.