Did ?unwise Republican deregulation? cause our current economic mess? As Kevin A. Hassett tells us in the latest National Review, that idea represents a key Democratic talking point for the upcoming elections.
But there?s a problem: there was no massive Republican deregulation during the George W. Bush years. As Hassett explains:
Over the past half century, the number of government regulators has more than tripled, from approximately 40,000 in 1960 to 124,000 in 2009. It increased at a fairly steady rate except for two notable periods. The number declined under Ronald Reagan, from 111,000 in 1980 to a trough of 95,000 in 1984. George H.W. Bush reversed all of Reagan?s progress, but then, surprisingly, Bill Clinton?s attention to reducing the deficit took a toll on regulators as well.
Under George W. Bush, the number of regulators increased from 115,000 to 119,000, hardly a Reaganesque outcome. If we include homeland-security personnel, the number of regulators increased under George W. Bush from 176,000 to 249,000.
?
Give n that Bush handed Obama a regulatory work force that was at least 3.3 percent larger than the one he inherited from President Clinton, there is very little evidence that Bush did much to reduce intrusive regulation during his term. And given the growth in regulation over the period leading up to the financial crisis, it is also difficult to support the view that deregulation had anything to do with it.
