Where to Draw the Line?

Government Executive Editor in Chief Tom Shoop wrote in FedBlog on Friday about President Obama's statement on Thursday about increasing the federal government's technological ability to respond to future oil spills -- and how that relates to where to we should draw the line on government's role and on regulation.

Obama said:

When it comes to stopping the leak down below, the federal government does not possess superior technology to BP. ... Now, one of the legitimate questions that I think needs to be asked is should the federal government have such capacity.

Shoop gave us something to think about:

Such a move would dramatically expand the federal role in the oil industry. And if you extend this line of thinking -- that is, it's the government's responsibility to mitigate the effects of potential adverse consequences of industrial activity through the application of technology superior to that in the private sector -- you're looking at a very large expansion of government's role in the economy. That may be where we're headed. The question is, before we go there, will we have a genuine debate on what that will mean for the size, structure and cost of government?