Counting Pages of Regulations Is a Waste of Time (and Paper)

Marketplace covers our work on regulations.

President Donald Trump stood in front of two piles of paper last month. One was the current Code of Federal Regulations, he said; the other was the code back in 1960. Using a pair of golden scissors, Trump cut a piece of “red tape” connecting them.

The pages were blank, and the piles weren’t exactly precise, but the message was clear: Government regulation is out of control, and we need to cut down on it.

Established in 1936, the Federal Register contains final rules, as well as proposed rules and all the notices and comments that come with them. 

The conservative think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute has reported breathlessly on how many pages President Barack Obama added to the Federal Register — “We don’t need a pen and phone, we need a meat ax” — compared to more modest additions under Trump.

Read the full story at Marketplace.