Red tape recession

The Washington Times reports on Wayne Crews's study on the federal regulatory burden. 

On Monday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released its analysis of the federal regulatory burden, which noted that the $160 billion annual cost of complying with the tax code represents less than a 10th of the $1.75 trillion burden of complying with the rest of Washington’s red tape. About 12 percent of the nation’s entire productive output is devoted solely to appeasing bureaucratic fiat. For a small company, meeting all of the various environmental, economic and workplace-related regulations takes an estimated $10,585 out of the pocket of each employee.

As the CEI report explained, government turns to regulations to implement public policy without having to pay for it. It’s a form of “off-budget deficit spending” imposed by unelected busybodies. One of the best ways to shrink that deficit and stimulate the economy would be to cut back on the number of bureaucratic rules and regulations.

Read the full article at the Washington Times.