It is obvious that there must be some government regulations in our complex society, to prevent fraud and protect the public. But how many do we need, on what, and at what cost?
In contrast to the Bible’s Ten Commandments, the nonpartisan Competitive Enterprise Institute has a publication titled, “Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State.”
It notes that according to the Small Business Administration, compliance with Washington-issued regulations costs about $1.75 trillion.
“That’s greater than the record federal budget deficit – projected at $1.48 trillion for [fiscal year] 2011 – and greater even than all corporate pretax profits,” CEI points out.
It’s getting worse, too, with Obama-Care’s maze of new rules.
Don’t you suspect that the costs of at least some of those regulations wind up exceeding the benefits?