The notion that reducing wealth will lead to a better world and environment is 'counterproductive'.
What happens when the state, public power, instead of focusing on the minimum and necessary, in its functions, starts to do things? This ends up in an excess of regulation, driven by the Do something ("Do something") "of what Milton Friedman spoke and that kills growth". This is how Javier Fernández-Lasquetty set the framework for his lecture at the University of the Hespérides, titled "Grow more, regulate less. The experience of fighting against overregulation in Madrid."
Gabriel Calzada, our university rector, presented him as someone who has "brought liberal ideas to practice," who today is in the business world, already far removed from politics, with a career in Think tanks Like FAES and his relevant academic background at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín, where he was appointed vice-rector in 2015.
Growing is "morally good", not just from an economic perspective, but also in terms of "feelings, usefulness and quality of life," Javier Fernández-Lasquetty maintained at the start. This is something essential to highlight these days, due to the presence "of ideological currents that advocate for degrowth, an idea that implies living with less and being poorer."
The notion that reducing wealth will lead to a better world and environment is "counterproductive", in their view. In reality, it's prosperous societies that have the "ability to care for the environment, reduce CO2 emissions and tackle climate problems," so arguing in favor of degrowth becomes "immoral as it implies accepting greater poverty" and goes against humanity's well-being.
Explaining the public policies implemented in the Community of Madrid during his tenure as Economy and Treasury Councilor, he stated that over the past twenty years, there has been work towards less regulation and fewer taxes. "Although much remains to be done, significant progress has been made," which is demonstrated by seeing that Madrid, historically not being the most economically outstanding region in Spain, now "is experiencing economic growth above the national average and a significantly higher per capita income."
"My experience and perspective suggest that this success has come in part due to the reduction of taxes and a policy aimed at regulating less," he emphasized. He also recalled an anecdote that reflects this philosophy, when former Community of Madrid president Esperanza Aguirre would tell them during weekly meetings of the Council of Government: "We didn't come here to regulate more, but to regulate less."
Between 1976 and 2019, a total of 36,500 regulations were approved and published in Spain. These regulations cover laws, decrees, and ministerial orders, with a significant impact on daily life, as "everything is subject to regulation." Nationally, from 2010 to 2015, two million pages were generated in the Official State Gazette.
And at the autonomous level, "around 200 to 300 new laws are promulgated every year," generating a substantial volume of regulations that reach 825,000 pages in the official gazette every twelve months. In the European Union, the situation is no different, since "two thousand binding regulations, directives or decisions are issued each year" for all member countries.
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