Congressman Darrell Issa, the New Chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to businesses asking which regulations they would like the new Congress to eliminate. In doing so he cites the burden of regulation on business:
In the letters, Mr. Issa said that federal agencies promulgated 43 “major” regulations in the last fiscal year, which he said would impose a cost on business of $28 billion. He described that as the largest increase in federal regulation in a single year.
There are two problems with this argument. The first is, I have no idea where he gets his numbers. The one official report (see Table 1-3) on the subject says that costs range between $4 billion and 10 billion. The second is that he completely ignores the benefits of these regulations, which are estimated to be between $8 billion and $29 billion. Maybe he should ask the beneficiaries of these regulations which ones they would like to make stronger.
This has me rethinking my whole parenting strategy. Tonight I will ask my kids which rules we should change. I’m guessing dessert before dinner and a later bedtime will top the list.
