However, the same principle could be applied to many or most regulations - make them based on principles, not on explicit rules written by Congress. Let the technocrats who work in the trenches make the decisions and write rules based on broad principles in the law as the world evolves.

That used to be the case, at least to a greater degree then it is today. An intersection of problems caused Congress to start detailing every little bit into the law, and now it's habit. A habit that is pushed by lobbyists who don't want to risk the technocrats actually producing sensible and enforceable regulation.

Jay