We already know what happens when regulations are eased. People die, profits soar, workers are abused. It isn't some philosophical theory, it's what happens. It's what has always happened throughout history.
That's why there are regulations in the first place. Because horrible things kept happening to people and we collectively decided that it would be better if that didn't continue. Shitty things happened and as a result, regulations were put into place. That's what happened and that's the reality we live in. To suggest otherwise is to live in a fantasy land.
Why would it? Is that a problem for you? If so, talk to your wife about it.
There are literally hundreds of posts on the old relationship subreddits that start out the way yours did and end up having a "I pursued this new thing and deeply regret it" update.
So you're just going to ignore reality in favor of what you think "should" be happening.
If someone like you was in charge, we'd swiftly find ourselves living in company towns and working 18 hour days on assembly lines, only to be swiftly culled the instant some form of automation made us redundant.
You say you're aware that there will always be people to take advantage of a situation where there is absolutely no protections for the consumer, but you are woefully ignorant of the scale to which advantage would be taken.