Yes and no. (How's that for a quick answer!)

First of all, the phrasing of such statements about degree (too much, too many) is deliberately "stacking the deck" and tries to prompt an answer that all regulations are bad.

Conservatives generally oppose government regulations (or an "excessive" degree of them), arguing that buyers and sellers should have the free choice and responsibility to buy and sell whatever they want. Regulations, they argue, burden the makers and sellers with "red tape" and ultimately increase the cost to the consumer. Because manufacturers know that any warning label will frighten away some buyers, most sellers will argue against disclosures in any borderline case, or in cases in which the harm is not immediate or direct. Conservatives generally favor the idea of industry self-regulation, but liberals point out the old folk-saying that this is like putting the fox in charge to guard the hen house.

Liberals generally favor government regulations, arguing that individual consumers need the government to act as their agent, to counter-balance the power of large corporations. Liberals argue that the omission of relevant information (such as harmful consequences, especially about health and safety) influences the decision-making process. Free choice must be informed choice: buyers must have both truthful and adequate disclosure about both the good and the bad. While no one wants "excessive" regulations, liberals want a more coherent plan, instead of the existing patchwork quilt, which has many gaps and loopholes.

In 2007, this ongoing problem in American politics took a sudden radical shift when President Bush made an Executive Directive requiring federal regulatory agencies to be run by political appointees, a move which critics called a "supersized version of the 19th-century spoils system."

In mid-2007, for example, regulations concerning greenhouse gas emissions, 31 states (following California's lead) had stricter standards, mandatory reporting, and third-party verification than the federal government (DOE) program of voluntary self-regulation by industry..