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Washington’s Thanksgiving Turkeys: Here Are All of the White House’s 200 Economically Significant Rules
As usual, the president will pardon a turkey again this year for Thanksgiving; For us turkey eaters, though, our federal holiday treat is lots and lots…
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The Federal Register Topped 70,000 Pages Today
The Federal Register, where federal agencies’ daily rules, regulations, notices, “guidance,” bulletins and other material accumulate each day, just topped 70,000 pages for 2014. 70,052…
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President Obama’s Executive Overreach Compounded by Regulatory Dark Matter
In recent years the Federal Register has topped out at well over 70,000 pages, two times at more than 80,000. Each year over 3,500 rules issue from…
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What Will the SpaceShipTwo Crash Mean for Commercial Space Flight Regulation?
The crash of a test flight of billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo, which cost the life of one, riveted many around the globe on Friday afternoon.
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How Federal Paperwork and Red Tape Has Grown since President Clinton
In recent five-part series called The 2014 Federal Paperwork and Red Tape Roundup, I took a look at hours of paperwork for various departments and…
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The 2014 Federal Paperwork and Red Tape Roundup, Part 5: Executive Agency Regulatory Costs
In Parts 1 through 4 of The 2014 Federal Paperwork and Red Tape Roundup we compiled a basic picture of federal paperwork costs with respect to…
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The 2014 Federal Paperwork and Red Tape Roundup, Part 4: Independent Agency Paperwork Costs
A recent post here at OpenMarket noted the Annual Costs of Independent Agency Rulemakings and presented an annual cost placeholder of $6.14 billion annually stemming from compliance with…
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The Great Unknown – Federal Independent Agencies’ Regulatory Costs
Let’s be independent together! —Herbie the Dentist Elf to Rudolph in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Independent agencies are not subject to Office of Management and Budget…
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The 2014 Federal Paperwork and Red Tape Roundup, Part 2: Billions of Dollars and 13,000 Lifetimes Annually
Whoever makes two ears of corn, or two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before, deserves better of mankind, and…
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The 2014 Federal Paperwork and Red Tape Roundup, Part 1: Big Bucks for Pencil Pushers
The more restrictions and prohibitions are in the Empire, the poorer grow the people. —Lao-Tzu When it comes to red tape and federal paperwork,…
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Western Water and California Drought, Part 2: No Need for Malthusian Despair
Well, some good news—it’s raining in Los Angeles. Western droughts combined with questionable water access policies spawn water crises that unfortunately are not unique…
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Strengthening Executive Branch Review of Federal Regulations
This week marks the due date of public comments on the 2014 edition of the Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Are Environmental Protection Agency Regulations Declining? Don’t Bet on It
This is Part 26 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: The Government Accountability Office Reports More Regulations in Obama Era
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Tell Us — Which Regulations Hurt Your Business as You Grow?
This is Part 24 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Small Businesses Beaten Down by Recordbreaking Federal Regulations
This is Part 23 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Completed Economically Significant Rules at Record Levels
This is Part 21 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Big Dollar Federal Regulations in the Pipeline Highest under Obama
This is Part 21 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Here Are the Federal Agencies that Issue the Most Regulations
This is Part 20 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (2014…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Federal Regulatory Agenda Consistently Tops 3,000 Rules
This is Part 19 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Federal Regulatory Disclosure Becomes More Confused
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Red Tapeworm 2014: When Regulations Get Delayed
I tend to think bureaucratic regulation often creates tremendous harm, so it’s interesting when those who disagree decide to hold off on regulation when it…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Over 24,000 Pen and Phone “Public Notices” Annually
This is Part 16 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: A Fourth of July Reflection on Presidental Executive Orders and Loss of Liberty
In other countries, similar edicts may be known as decrees, orders in council, or fiat. -Wikipedia This is a special July Fourth Edition…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: The Expanding Code of Federal Regulations
This is Part 14 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (2014…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Cumulative Final Rules in the Federal Register
This is Part 13 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (2014 Edition)…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Number of Proposed and Final Rules in the Federal Register
This is Part 12 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (2014…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Federal Register Pages Per Decade
This is Part 11 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (2014…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: A Record Number of Federal Register Final Rule Pages
This is Part 10 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (2014…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Thousands of Federal Register Pages
This is Part 9 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (2014…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: The High Cost of Overcriminalization
This is Part 8 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (2014…
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The Funnel of Gov — OMB’s 2014 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations
Over the weekend the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the 2014 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and…
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Are My Ten Thousand Command “Mints” to Be Regulated?
The Food and Drug Administration FDA wants to regulate serving size of breath mints. That's right. This rule was issued March 2014:…
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Obama’s New Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations Shows Big Rules Are Growing
In the just-released Spring 2014 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations, published twice a year by the Office of Management and Budget,…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: U.S. Regulation Compared to the World’s Largest Economies
This is Part 7 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: The Federal Government “Eats” 31 Percent Of The U.S. Economy
This is Part 6 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual…
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The Premises of Net Neutrality
In the electric power industry, if you run an extension cord across the street to serve another, you go to jail. The local utility has…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Regulations Cost More than Federal Income Taxes
This is Part 5 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Regulations Catching Up to Government Spending?
This is Part 4 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Reckoning the Dollar Cost of Federal Regulation
This is Part 3 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Tardy Bureaucrats Gone Wild
This is Part 2 of a series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual…
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Red Tapeworm 2014: Guess Which Is the Largest Government on Earth?
This is Part 1 of a new series taking a walk through some sections of Ten Thousand Commandments: An…
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FCC’s Internet Fast Lanes Should Outrun Net Neutrality Bias
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will issue proposed rules May 15, rules expected expected to allow premium pricing for Internet fast lanes alongside the lane…
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Why Is Obama’s Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulation Delayed?
In April 2013, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued its Draft 2013 Report to Congress on the…
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Sneaky Regulation? Federal Agencies Issue over 24,000 “Public Notices” Annually
A mixed economy like ours does not remain static. Economic activity increasingly shifts toward government outright (health care, retirement, education) or exists under "Mother-May-I" constraints…
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New Data: Code of Federal Regulations Expanding, Faster Pace under Obama
The annual Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the "codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 11: Sunset Regulations and Implement a “One In, One Out” Procedure
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 10: Congress Should Create an Annual Regulatory Reduction Commission
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 9: Congress Must Affirm Final Agency Rules before They Are Law
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 8: Create a Culture of Repealing Regulations
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Here Are the Obama Administration’s 191 Big-Dollar “Economically Significant” Rules and Regulations
If you pay any attention to the debate over federal regulation (there are at least three or four of you), you inevitably hear about "economically…
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Obama Major Regulations 29 Percent Higher Than Bush
The 1996 Congressional Review Act (CRA) requires agencies to submit reports to Congress on their major rules — frequently defined as those costing $100 million…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 7: Recognize and Reduce Indirect Costs of Regulation
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 6: Deal with the Deadweight Cost of Regulation
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 5: Categorize Regulations by Impact
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 4: Put a Spotlight on Economically Significant Rules
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 3: Make Regulations Transparent Like the Budget
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 2: Regulatory Benefits? Maybe Not
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his State of…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 1: Measure Regulatory Costs
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated "Energy in the Executive." But President Obama's 2014 agenda framed by his State of…
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Budget Deal Agreement and State of the Union Address Continue to Neglect Debt and Economy
In the lead-up to the State of the Union...a briefing theme was that President Barack Obama has little appetite for a debt reduction deal and…
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Is FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for or against Net Neutrality? Yes
In what the Washington Post referred to as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler's strongest endorsement yet of net neutrality, he said: Public policy…
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CEI’s 2014 Unconstitutionality Index: 56 Regulations for Every Law
Every now and then one sees a cute article like this Los Angeles Times piece lamenting that Congress is "ineffective" because…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs, Part 5: When Regulation Tramples Health and Safety
Act surprised...Show concern...Deny...Deny...Deny. —Anonymous What if anybody in power ever actually paid attention to the body count of federal regulation? We just finished another year…
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2013 Ends with an 80,330-Page Federal Register and 3,659 Final Rules and Regulations
The Federal Register wrapped up 2013 with a third-highest count ever, of 80,330 pages. (The published version contains 80,462 pages but I net out blank…
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A New Year of Regulation: Obama’s Record-Setting Federal Register
[caption id="attachment_72593" align="alignleft" width="168"] Duly Enacted Laws vs. Unaccountable Regulation. The Federal Register runs wild. The federal government spends heavily; it also regulates heavily.[/caption] The Federal…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs, Part 4: The Costs of Poor Regulatory Sausage Making
In the first installment of “Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs,” the focus was the loss of liberty in…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs, Part 3: The Costs of Regulatory Benefits
In the first installment of "Cataloging Washington's Hidden Costs," the topic was loss of liberty; in…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs, Part 2: The Unmeasured Impacts of Economic Intervention
Back in Part 1 of Cataloging Washington's Hidden Costs, the topic was the incalculable cost of the loss of liberty in…
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The Federal Register Is about to Top 70,000 Pages — And it’s Not Even December
This morning, the Federal Register stood at 68,980 pages. It’s the daily depository of all federal regulations proposed and final. It is our unfortunate Principia Regulatica.
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Obama Allows Illegal Health Policies, Quickly Pivots to Economy
The furor over the Healthcare.gov website that is merely supposed to automate the process of determining if one is eligible or…
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Antitrust as Corporate Welfare: Imposed Concessions and Conditions on Mergers Are a Fundamental Error
As is now commonplace, American Airlines needed to relent to conditions imposed on the merger with US Airways to secure Department of Justice approval, primarily…
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Why Obama’s Pivot from Obamacare to Infrastructure Makes No Sense
President Obama is in New Orleans today to pivot attention to what he’ll call leveraging investment in infrastructure. From the ones and zeros of the…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs: Part 1: The Loss of Liberty
Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so. —Quote frequently attributed to Galileo that he probably never said. Washington is teeing up…
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Are California Droughts Natural or Man Made?
A ongoing battle in court and public opinion rages in California over the environmental status of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (both rivers meet, and…
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Executive Branch Review of Federal Regulations — Still Highly Incomplete
In the 2014 fiscal budget proposal, the White House praised regulation of auto safety, energy efficiency and credit cards, and claimed, "…
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Congress to Mark Up Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Bill
The Regulatory Flexibility Act directs federal agencies to assess the effects of their rules on small businesses. How’s that going? A new book…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 15): Can We Please End This. Please.
Today, Monday, September 9, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 14): What Should Congress Do?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 13): What FCC Should Do Now
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 12): Why Net Neutrality Threatens Homeland Security and Cybersecurity
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 11): The Inappropriateness of Compulsory Transparency
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 10): Who’s Discriminating Online?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 9): How to Expand Consumer Choice and Access to Content
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 8): The Essential Elements of Non-Destructive Rulemaking
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 7): Mandatory Dumb Pipes? But Why Sacrifice Genius?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 6): Does “Market Failure” Demand Neutrality Regulation?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 5): The Fallacies Motivating Net Neutrality
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 4): FCC Order Creates Political Vulnerability for All Market Participants
(Note: On Septe. 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of the…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 3): The FCC’s Disdain for Markets
(Note: On September 9, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 2): An Alternative Case for Agency Neutrality
(Note: On Sept. 9, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World, Part 1: Net Neutrality vs. Infrastructure Wealth
On September 9, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon's…
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How to Have Enough Water for Everybody
Last week I testified in the Water and Power Subcommittee in the House of Representatives (hearing linked…
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Costs Rise In Obama’s New 2013 Draft Report To Congress On The Benefits And Costs Of Federal Regulations
Last year, the Obama Office of Management and Budget’s 2012 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal…
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State Of The Union? Try “Over-Regulated”
In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama cannot be expected to pledge to roll back government in any manner whatsoever, a…
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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…
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The Anti-Democracy Index
In compiling Ten Thousand Commandments over the years (alas, February 8 is going to mark 20 years of this project) it…
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How Much Does Federal Paperwork And Tax Compliance Cost?
Regulations notwithstanding, the off-budget costs of tax compliance for individuals and businesses are said to account for most of the federal paperwork burden, although there…
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Federal Regulation Update: 224 Economically Significant Rules In The Pipeline
The federal government's Fall Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions finally appeared the Friday before Christmas (the Spring 2012…
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Where Did All The Environmental Protection Agency Rules Go?
The Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations has always been squishy and has never bound agencies to issue solely the rules contained within; but the decline…
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Settlement: FTC Ends Google Antitrust Investigation
Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cleared Google of accusations of "Search Bias," and inappropriately harming rivals. The investigation lasted nearly…