Grassroot Perspective: Regulators Run Wild, the West Side’s Story, and More

From Malia Hill's column in The Hawaii Reporter:

Credit must be given to whoever thought up the title for the new report on federal regulation from the Competitive Enterprise Institute: Ten Thousand Commandments. It pretty much sums up the problem inherent in our over-regulated nation. Though few may be hardy enough to read the entirety of the 66 page document, it is well worth a brief look, if only to remind yourself of what the authors work hard to remind us all—that regulations function as hidden law (and a hidden tax) on our society. A few stomach-turning facts from this report include: that the Small Business Administration estimate that annual regulatory compliance costs more than $1.752 trillion; given annual government spending of about $3.598 trillion (yes, really), this regulatory “hidden tax” accounts for more than 48% of federal spending; and in 2011, agencies issued 3807 final rules and proposed 2898 rules, an increase of 6.5% and 18.8% over the previous year, respectively.