Obama the Red Tape, New Regulation, Federal Government Growing President

Under President Obama the amount of governmental red tape and new regulations has grown at an unprecedented pace. If it continues he will have increased the size of government more than any other president in history. In 2010 Based on data from the Government Accountability Office, an unprecedented 43 major new regulations were imposed by Washington. And based on reports from government regulators themselves, the total cost of these rules topped $26.5 billion, far more than any other year for which records are available. With the enactment of the new health care laws, financial regulations, and plans for more rule making in other areas, the regulatory burden on Americans is set to increase even more in the coming years. The hidden tax, is what they call the cost of all these new regulations, rules, restrictions, and mandates puts a heavy economic burden on Americans and the U.S. economy. The actual costs to Americans of all these new regulations is likely to be much higher. Because the agencies themselves are allowed  to make the initial calculations, thereby casting their proposals in the best light. The OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs conducted ex ante analyses of regulations to test the accuracy of cost-benefit estimates. The study determined that regulators underestimated costs 34 percent of the time. No surprise there. Even more moronically the EPA is prohibited by law from considering costs in devising regulations under the Clean Air Act and other major environmental laws. Thus, the agency recently set new, more stringent standards on emissions of nitrogen dioxide without formally considering the economic or technical feasibility of compliance. If we care about growing business and jobs in this county shouldn't we consider the economic cost of new EPA regulations before implementing them? Finally it has to be noted  that annual compliance costs constitute only part of the economic burden of new regulation. New rules also entail start-up costs for new equipment, conversions of industrial processes, and creating new data collection and reporting procedures. There are even more rules on the way. Obama is not done yet. According to one estimate, financial regulation legislation recently passed by Congress, the Dodd–Frank bill, will require 243 new formal rule-makings by 11 different federal agencies. This bill is so huge and far reaching in its authority it needs to be repealed by the next president. The Dodd-Frank bill gives the federal government way to much power. 2010 was a record setting year for new federal regulations, but 2011 is set to shatter that record. This growth in federal regulation puts increasingly more financial burdens on the country and economy. This is the worst time to place more burdens on a economy that is already struggling. Constantly growing the size and power of government is not the answer. Limited government with more power and more wealth in the hands of the citizenry is the answer.