|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
The Regulatory Plague Continues
| Article
# : |
20048 |
|
|
Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
|
| Issue
Date : |
12 / 1992 |
2,139 Words |
| Author
: |
Edward L. Hudgins
Edward L. Hudgins is Walker Senior Policy Analyst and deputy
director of economic policy studies at the Heritage
Foundation. |
"Did you hear the one about the bureaucrat who wanted all hard hats worn on construction sites to be sterilized before use? Or how about the one about the regulator who wanted to force dentists to dispose of children's teeth as toxic waste rather than allowing them to be returned to the children for a later exchange with the tooth fairy? There was this Housing and Urban Development planner who wanted to require the balconies of housing projects to be flush with the floor inside so that they would flood whenever it rained. And there was this other paper shuffler who wanted all automatic teller machines at drive-through banks to be accessible to blind drivers."
Sound like the beginnings of Jay Leno jokes? The good news is that these regulations, though actually proposed, did not go into effect. They were headed off by Vice President Dan Quayle's Competitiveness Council and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. But the joke is still on the American people. Many more regulations from Washington, turned out by the same system that gave rise to the absurd examples above, are in effect. And more are being generated every day.
In the last three and a half years, regulations have grown at an alarming rate after a decline in the 1980s. In 1980, for example, the Federal Register, in which regulations are published, had 87,012 pages. When Reagan left office, the number was 53,376. Last year the number of Federal Register pages had jumped to 67,716. In 1980, there were 121,706 federal employees directly involved in issuing and enforcing regulations. In 1988 the number was down to 104,360. Now the number of federal regulators has reached an all-time high of 124,994.
The plague of growing federal regulations, like high taxes, have a weakening and debilitating effect on the American economy, harming both consumers and businesses. But, unlike direct taxes, regulation is a sort of silent killer. The public might see an extra form to fill out here, a ban on interstate banking there, a restriction on the use of one's own land today, a mandate to recycle newspapers even if this creates more pollution tomorrow. But all of these are part of a pattern. The federal regulatory system is out of control and wreaking havoc on the American economy.
The federal government turns out regulations with little regard to their full costs and consequences, which often more than offset any benefit from the regulations. These regulations are administered sometimes in an arbitrary manner, sometimes with little leeway at all. And regulations are so
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
