Free Republic

Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's team of senior environmental advisors ended a trip to Europe with executives from Chevron, PG&E and other corporations. The trip was designed to study Europe's efforts to curb global warming, but it also spotlighted how the Schwarzenegger administration sometimes deals with the companies it regulates. It's called "constructive engagement" - treating corporations under regulatory control as partners rather than enemies to be beaten into submission. The agency that regulates California workplaces, Cal-OSHA, often relies on cooperative agreements with company owners rather than threats of huge fines to improve conditions. CalPERS also has attempted to use...