Regulation Archives - Page 9 of 9 Voice For Liberty

Jun

Chemical security act would harm business, farmers

The Kansas Meadowlark contributes coverage about a chemical security law that promises to overburden an important American industry. Even the family farm is at risk. That's the operative word -- risk. As has been reported, Congressional testimony found that the legislation could actually increase risk to the businesses that the bill intends to protect. An important point of this article is the involvement of the left-wing Center for American Progress. Coverage of this issue on this blog is available by clicking on Chemical facility anti-terrorism standards. To read the coverage at the Kansas Meadowlark, click on Do we want Homeland…

Jun

By Bob Weeks

Regulation is expensive

We often hear of the burden of excessive regulation. When we measure the cost of federal regulation, we find that the numbers are truly shocking. The report Ten Thousand Commandments 2009: An Annual Snapshot of the Regulatory State, published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, reveals the costs of the hidden tax of regulation. How much does federal regulation cost? "A very rough extrapolation from an estimate of the federal regulatory enterprise by economist Mark Crain estimates that regulatory compliance costs hit $1.172 trillion in 2008." To put that in perspective, federal income tax collections in 2008 were $1,145.7 trillion --…

Jun

By Bob Weeks

Chemical security act could affect Wichita water rates

The United States Congress is considering legislation that aims to increase the security of America's chemical industry to terrorism threats. The legislation, if passed, would require chemical companies to substitute government-mandated processes and technology for their current processes. The post Chemical security law goes beyond protection explains more about this legislation. Even places that we might not consider to be "chemical plants" could fall under this act. The Center for American Progress -- described by Wikipedia as "a liberal political policy research and advocacy organization," an understatement if there ever was one -- has produced a report titled Chemical Security…

May

By Bob Weeks

Regulation can backfire, benefit wrong parties

Regulators -- no matter how well-intentioned, no matter how noble their cause -- usually fail to achieve their goals. Here's a look behind the scenes of how things can work. In a Washington Examiner article, Timothy P. Carney relates this story: There’s a metaphor popularized by economist Bruce Yandle that is useful in explaining efforts to regulate anything from energy to toy safety. Call it the Tale of the Baptist and the Bootlegger. Picture a small-town Southern politician after Prohibition’s repeal. Call him Jones. Jones’ campaign needs both cash and a winning issue. The state’s most prolific bootlegger comes and…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

The “Watchful Eye” Fallacy

"In his inaugural address on January 20, 2009, Barack Obama said: 'Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.' To prevent such unfortunate episodes, says Mr. Obama, the market needs to be supervised and regulated by the watchful eye of government. ... The fallacy in this view lies in the assumption that government regulators rise above the human limitations that apply to everyone else.…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

No end to increasing regulation

Contrary to the popular perception, Bush has been one of the most pro-regulation presidents -- far more so than Democrat Bill Clinton, who, in many ways, was a better friend to the free market than Bush has been. ...By 2002, just one year into the Bush Administration, there were clear signs of backsliding. A government report endorsed the view that human activity was a principal cause of global warming and the administration signaled that it was going to become more aggressive about issuing new regulations. Said OMB's Graham, "There's no allergy to regulation" at the White House....Bush threw all of…