CEI Today: Herbicide in drinking water, real cost of regulation, and union scam of “official time”

HERBICIDE IN DRINKING WATER – ANGELA LOGOMASINI

Openmarket.org: Herbicide Poses No Cancer Risk In Drinking Water

Over the years, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have repeatedly issued bogus reports claiming that Americans face serious cancer risks from trace chemicals found in drinking water. A new study challenges their claims regarding one of these activists’ key targets: the herbicide atrazine, which farmers use to control weeds rather than tilling the soil.

COST OF REGULATION – WAYNE CREWS

Openmarket.org: The Cost Of Enforcing Government Regulation

Regulatory cost estimates of around $1.8 trillion encompass compliance costs paid by the public plus economic drag. But but those estimates do not include the costs of administering the regulatory state, that is, on-budget amounts spent by federal agencies to produce rules and to police regulatory compliance are not accounted for there.

The newest report, “Growth in Regulators’ Budget Slowed by Fiscal Stalemate: An Analysis of the U.S. Budget for Fiscal Years 2012 and 2013,” finds that fiscal year 2012 enforcement costs incurred by federal departments and agencies stood at an estimated $61 billion. That represents an 8.6-percent increase over the previous year’s $59 billion.

UNION “OFFICIAL TIME” SCAM – TREY KOVACS

Capital Research Center: Official Time: Taxpayers paying for union work is officially a scam

Few Americans are aware that, through their tax dollars, they finance labor unions through a practice known as “official time” or “release time.” The cost to taxpayers is skyrocketing, while—thanks to Obama administration stonewalling—accountability is declining. Fortunately, reformers are working to rein in this costly, corrupt practice.

Each working day, government employees report for work but do not perform governmental duties. Instead, they work for a private enterprise void of any public purpose—their union. Taxpayers pay for these employees’ wages, pensions, and health care benefits. Taxpayers pay for office space, supplies, and travel, too. > Read the full comment on Capitalresear.org