Isn’t $1.9 Trillion A Year Lost to Federal Regulations Enough?

Posted by khalling 7 years, 5 months ago to Government
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Author WDonway: "The question goes to the heart of government power versus individual liberty. It is the question that defined America. And today it has application to every single action of government, and, unfortunately, directly or indirectly, every decision in every American life. Any candidate who fails to address that question seriously, credibly, and often may be assumed to be taking for granted that politics, and the office they seek, is exclusively about the exercise of power, how to increase it—and probably how much they crave such power."
SOURCE URL: http://atlassociety.org/commentary/commentary-blog/6094-isnt-1-9-trillion-a-year-lost-to-federal-regulations-enough


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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 7 years, 5 months ago
    More than enough! Just this week, I now have to fill out another form documenting how much time I spend on each of my activities on average per semester so as to comply with federal regulations placed upon all universities that accept federal dollars in any way. Mostly this is for compliance for federal grants, for which I have none, but it is also a requirement if a university accepts students on federal loans, which of course, President Zero cornered the market on in 2009.
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  • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 5 months ago
    Hi khalling,
    They crave the power. It's their opiate. The clowns that rule know nothing about producing. 188,000 pages of regulations when 1168 pages of a certain book should suffice.
    The cost to manufactures from these edicts is over $19,000 per year per employee. According to Frank Buckley the foundation professor at Scalia law School in the U S A if we regressed to Denmarks level of Government corruption we would add 20 % to a workers income. This country should be so wealthy and economically vibrant that we would as a side effect lift the rest of the worlds standard of living.
    Regards,
    DOB
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  • Posted by $ blarman 7 years, 5 months ago
    Apparently not. The economy is still functioning. [/sarcasm]

    Progressives would like nothing more than to shut down the remaining portions of free market out there so they can control and administer them. This is nothing more than an expansion of power with that goal in mind.

    The only way we are going to get back our country is to get enough people educated and sick of being told what to do that they actively close large sections of the government and free us from these self-imposed slave-masters. The only other option will be a revolution.
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  • Posted by dbhalling 7 years, 5 months ago
    One question that needs to be addressed is what is Regulation? Are recording statutes for land and houses a regulation?
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    • Posted by Technocracy 7 years, 5 months ago
      Regulation is short circuiting the legislative process.
      It is performed by unelected, unaccountable, beaurocrats with no effective oversight.

      An administrative fan dance hiding death by thousands of quasi-legal cuts.
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      • Posted by dbhalling 7 years, 5 months ago
        Are registration systems for cars a regulation? The reason I ask is that some people say trademarks, copyrights and patents are regulations.
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        • Posted by Technocracy 7 years, 5 months ago
          car registrations, like a lot of things, are a bit of a mish mash. States with budget shortfalls are using regulation changes to raise fees, penalties, anything they can think of to get more money.

          You are the expert but don't trademarks, copywrights, and patents fall under USC somewhere? If so that would be a combination of law and regulation.

          Many regulations don't have legislative backing. Many iare not evenly or fully enforced, regardless of its origin.

          Example: seat belts. Many states mandate the use of seatbelts in motor vehicles. Some pass laws about seat belts, some so not. Whether any given state mandates seatbelts through law, regulation, or both....how many school busses enforce their use or even have them installed?
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          • Posted by dbhalling 7 years, 5 months ago
            Yeah so at the Federal level your distinction is proper legislative laws vs regs. However, that is not the same distinction at the state level. I have spent some time on this, but have not written on it and therefore I am not ready to say anything definitive.

            "trademarks, copywrights, and patents fall under USC somewhere?" yes but they also have CFR that apply.
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            • Posted by Technocracy 7 years, 5 months ago
              DB, in a lot of cases I think it comes down to what the politicians can do for the least effort.

              Regulations are far easier to emplace or change than laws are since less attention is paid to them. And in the rare instances where there is extreme blowback, it is just as easy to change or remove.

              In other cases they know legislative action would fail so they backdoor it with the regulatory route. For example, Congress would not pass a climate change bill, so the President had the EPA start gutting the coal industry thorough regulation.

              This can happen at any level, although I do think that it is somewhat less common at the state level than it is at the federal or direct local levels.

              The proper method should be legislation and if needed regulation to clarify and define. But that requires follow through.

              People, especially politicians, like easy "fixes". So alphabet agencies at every level expand to exert the force that failed at the legislative level. Or to exert force in place of the legislative action that failed or was never even attempted.
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  • Posted by bsmith51 7 years, 5 months ago
    I wonder if that number represents only costs to existing businesses and consumers. If so, one can only guess at the massive opportunity costs that are not included.
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 7 years, 5 months ago
    Regulatory fanatics have not been schooled on the law of diminishing returns, and when the cost of regulatory compliance exceeds the benefit gained. I saw evidence of this a few days ago, when the DOT fools were declaring that a resurrection of the old Jimmy Carter idea to reduce accidents by limiting highway speeds would be implemented for big trucks. When pressed for the benefits, they announced an estimated reduction in highway fatalities of less than a hundred per year. Of course they conveniently overlooked a possible increase in fatalities caused by autos rear ending the slower trucks. Improved fuel mileage was another supposed benefit, but they forgot the likely need to increase truck fleet size to handle needed flow of goods to meet schedules. We're already short of semi drivers by 73,000, and these regulations will only serve to add stress to that labor market.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 5 months ago
    According to Clinton, never enough. Until all business is privately owned but controlled by the state, and eventually owned by the state.Traveling from a mixed economy, to a fascist economy, to a communist/socialist economy. If Clinton wins, I give America 10 years at most until it becomes the Peoples States of America.
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    • Posted by strugatsky 7 years, 5 months ago
      It already is.
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      • Posted by Herb7734 7 years, 5 months ago
        In my opinion, not quite. There still is a smidgeon of fast disappearing freedom that can be worked with. I don't think Trump is up to the job, but if he can slow down the downward progress until Mr. Amazing comes along he will have done good. Of course, there may not be a Mr. Amazing in which case ...well, who cares?
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  • Posted by term2 7 years, 5 months ago
    The purpose of regulation is to allow the government the power to control everyone, but not the responsibilities that come with that. Control business, but not take the responsibility to make them operate profitably.

    They regulate and WE have to figure out how to still exist under the regulations. I am tired of it. I left the medical device industry years ago with the advent of the new FDA regulations on medical devices. I shrugged, as I suspect a lot of people do every day as regulations get more and more detailed and generalized.
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  • Posted by bsudell 7 years, 5 months ago
    Those in government are trying to show us that THEY are in control; not us. We have to only vote for people that support the Constitution, and we have to destroy this horrible bureaucracy. We are being controlled by people that we DID NOT ELECT.
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    • Posted by freedomforall 7 years, 5 months ago
      The statist party does not allow people who support the constitution on the ballot under their banners, and other banners are ignored or treated as irrelevant by the statist controlled media.
      Just bread and circuses until the revolution. Then lots of bloodshed. Few have the stomach for it.
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