Liberals always accuse conservatives of being against things like health inspections and fire codes when we point to wasteful over-regulation. Liberals scoff when you translate regulation into dollars, failing to understand that any money spent meeting the requirements of regulations is money not put back into a business or into the pockets of employees.
Liberals also fail to understand that those costs are always passed on to consumers. They’re never eaten by the business owner, as they shouldn’t be. The amount of wealth and productivity lost each year via regulation is staggering. But just how staggering? As The Heritage Foundation reports, this staggering:
The annual cost of regulation — $1.75 trillion by one frequently cited estimate — represents twice the amount of individual income taxes collected last year. Overall, from the beginning of the Obama Administration to mid-fiscal year (FY) 2011, regulators have imposed $38 billion in new costs on the American people, more than any comparable period on record. Consider Washington’s red tape to be a hidden tax.
The mountain of regulations didn’t begin under the Obama Administration. Under the Administration of George W. Bush, for example, $60 billion in additional annual regulatory costs were imposed on Americans. But as Katz and Gattuso write, the rate at which burdens are growing has accelerated under the Obama Administration.
Many Americans are blissfully ignorant of the plethora of regulations that affect their pocket books. As Heritage points out in their report, “toilets, showerheads, light bulbs, mattresses, washing machines, dryers, cars, ovens, refrigerators, television sets, and bicycles” all cost much more because of questionable regulations.
When you think of the thousands of OSHA, EPA, IRS, HUD, USDA, and hundreds of other federal and state agency bureaucrats eager to stick it to some non-complying private citizen, the mind boggles. The recent woodpecker controversy shows just how oppressive these regulations and laws can be.
To make things worse, individuals with agendas and unhealthy personal passions are often attracted to regulatory enforcement jobs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer involved in the woodpecker fiasco is an example of the thousands of government officials who lack any common sense, but who are given great power. Sort of like our president and much of Congress.
