And the Beat(ing) Goes On Part 31. How Obama Can Create Jobs and Spur the Economy

If Obama and the Democrats are serious about creating an environment for jobs and reviving the economy they would move in the direction of eliminating regulations as fast as Obama demanded that the Congress do in passing his fiasco of a Jobs Acts when he said, Pass it now! about 18 times.  Of course that would mean losing power in some ways and narcissist never relinquish power voluntarily.  The Republican need to be all over this after all Obama did bring up regulatory reform but anyone knows that the offer was disingenuous.

In a recent report by the Competitive Enterprise Institute they pointed out that the cost of regulatory compliance  stands at $175 Trillion and that doesn't include all the new regulations that will be piled on as Obamacare comes into play unless it is repealed or found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Take a look at some of the  findings:

 The Federal Register stands at an all-time record-high 81,405 pages.

In 2010, federal agencies issued 3,573 final rules.

While agencies issued 3,573 final rules, Congress passed and the president signed into law a comparatively “few” 217 bills. Considerable lawmaking power is delegated to unelected bureaucrats at agencies, an abuse addressed recently in proposals such as the REINS Act.(I strongly urge you to read this)

Alarmingly, proposed rules in the Federal Register have surged from 2,044 in 2009 to 2,439 in 2010, a jump of 19.3 percent

Of the 4,225 rules now in the regulatory pipeline, 224 are “economically significant” meaning they wield at least $100 million in economic impact—this is an increase of 22 percent over 2009’s 184 rules.

Given 2010’s government spending (outlays) of $3.456 trillion, the regulatory “hidden tax” of $1.75 trillion stands at an unprecedented 50.7 percent of the level of federal spending itself.

Regulatory costs exceed all 2008 corporate pretax profits of $1.463 trillion.

Regulatory costs dwarf corporate income taxes of $157 billion.

Regulatory costs tower over the estimated 2010 individual income taxes of $936 billion by 87 percent—nearly double the level.

Regulatory costs of $1.75 trillion absorb 11.9 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), estimated at $14.649 trillion in 2010.

Combining regulatory costs with federal FY 2010 outlays of $3.456 trillion reveals a federal government whose share of the entire economy now reaches 35.5 percent.

Ponder, for a moment that final percentage.  35.5% of what our economy produces now is related to government spending or compliance to a government regulatory regime.


Here’s a thought – if the government wants to spur economic growth, create jobs and, most likely, increase revenue for government, perhaps a serious – and I mean very serious- look ought to be taken (along with action, please) at the mountain of costly regulations now imposed by said government and a majority of them rolled back.  Over 81,000 pages of regulations, and I’m sure some bureaucrat out there believes everyone of them is necessary. Clear thinking people find this to be insane.

The insane EPA regulations are enforced as if they were laws but for those not familiar with the Constitution of the US, only Congress can make laws. However that matters little to Climate Czar Carol Browner or EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson who feel they are above the law and can decide what is good or bad for We The People.


Then there is the De facto moratorium on American oil and gas production.
Political decisions by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and his appointees have led to a steep decline in domestic oil and gas production on federal lands and offshore areas. All done by regulatory fiat.

So if Obama and the Democrats are serious they will take immediate action and in his next speech and outline of how he will create jobs in his new-retread stimulus plan he will shout "Pass it now" on doing away with the burdensome, job killing, economy killing regulatory nonsense.

In the meantime I would suggest that you not hold your breath.