Donald Trump's proposal to repeal low-flow toilet regulations got splash back on the Twitter hashtag #ToiletTrump, but he has a good point. | Source: AP Photo / Michael Probst
- #ToiletTrump flooded Twitter with jokes and scorn Saturday after the president took on US toilet policy.
- Toilets are the latest front in Donald Trump’s push for deregulation in the dirty business of politics.
- Congress made it a crime to manufacture toilets that use more than 1.6 gallons per flush in 1992.
Democrats pushing for impeachment say Donald Trump violated the Constitution. But how’s this for constitutional? The president has asked for the EPA to consider flushing its toilet-flushing regulations.
Speaking with small business owners at the White House, Trump said the rules actually cause people to waste more water when they’re doing their business:
People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times as opposed to once. They end up using more water… The EPA is looking at that very strongly at my suggestion.
Trump’s critics blasted him on Twitter.
#ToiletTrump Creates Swirl of Controversy
One accused Trump of standing to personally benefit from the toilet policy shift, by deregulating the toilets in his own Trump hotels.
Another questioned the president’s priorities.
While another thought it was just plain weird.
Someone called it the “constipation proclamation.”
Another #ToiletTrump post couldn’t help but share a crude scatological fantasy. (Hey, it’s Twitter.)
https://twitter.com/Lulz_Swag/status/1203264524704526336
Another just sat back and enjoyed the hashtag.
Trump Has a Point About Toilets
But as one small business owner pointed out on Twitter, Trump does have a point about water pressure that we can all get behind.
After all, who can’t relate to feeling that the water pressure in their house or at work is too low? And as Donald Trump notes, government regulations can have unintended consequences .
You go into a new building, a new house or a new home and they have standards and you don’t get water. You can’t wash your hands practically there’s so little water that comes out of the faucet. And the end result is you leave the faucet on and it takes you so much longer to wash your hands and you end up using the same amount of water.
Forget getting the government out of your bedroom. Trump says regulators should get out of your bathroom too.
These unintended consequences of well-meaning public policies are what economists call perverse incentives . Trump is looking out for both consumers and the environment. So his liberal critics can take a seat.
