, 7-8). Beginning in the mid-1970s, public dissatisfaction with many of the burdens imposed by the regulatory environment led to moves to deregulate, and reforms in this direction were passed in the late 1970s and early 1980s to deregulate structurally competitive industries. These included the airlines, trucking, railroads, natural gas, telecommunications, and certain financial industries (Breyer, 1990, 15-17).
From the mid-1970s to the present, the nation reassessed the utility and wisdom of regulation, and the deregulation movement appeared to represent a well-conceived, broad-based, and purposeful effort. Studies have shown that while some believe the deregulation of the airline, trucking, and telephone industries were successful, in only the case of the airlines was the responsible agency actually dismantled. Also, studies show other industries and areas where deregulation efforts clearly failed (Gerston, Fraleigh, and Schwab, 1988, 231). In some industries, deregulation was seen as a destructive change. The deregulation of the financial industry is considered one of the major reasons why the savings and loan crisis developed (Kuttner, 1990, 16). Arguably, deregulation in the savings and loan case has cost taxpayers more than regulation ever did, thus undercutting the argument of savings as a reason for deregulating certain industries.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was founded in 1938, and the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 put the CAB out of existence at the end of 1984. The overriding objective of this act was to foster competition within the industry, and other objectives included encouraging the entry of new and exiting air carriers into new markets; continuing service to small communities; and encouraging the use of secondary airports at major metropolitan areas. The Declaration of Policy section of the act states that safety has the highest priority in air commerce and that the established level of saf...