…and a good moratorium:
The fact is that regulation now costs the US economy over $1 trillion a year, according to my colleague Wayne Crews. Every year, Wayne puts together a snapshot of the regulatory state called Ten Thousand Commandments. This year he found that regulation eats up 8.3 percent of the US economy and its cost is equal to 63 percent of corporate pretax profits. The burden of regulation on business dwarfs the burden of the corporate income tax.
So the one year moratorium is probably a good idea, slowing if not halting the regulatory juggernaut. However, we can go further and provide the stimulus the economy provides at zero cost by getting rid of some of this burden. We call this program “Liberate to Stimulate” and some of the measures we suggest are:
• Rather than trying to improve speeds by picking the particular R&D horses to run on the racetrack, improve the business and regulatory track so everyone can go faster, and let jockeys keep more of their earnings.
• Allow freer trade in skilled labor: Bright foreign workers want to stay and create U.S. jobs after graduating here. That’s a better way to address global competition.
• Avoid safety regulation that makes us less safe: Many frontier technologies like nanotech can make our environment cleaner. Exaggerating risks overlooks the hazards of stagnation.
• Liberalize capital markets: Capitalism ranks among the world’s great democratizing forces, but post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley regulation has severely distressed smaller companies. Exempting firms with small market capitalizations is just for starters.
There’s more.
It will never fly, though. It doesn’t give the fascists on either side of the aisle enough power over our lives.
It doesn’t give the fascists on either side of the aisle enough power
Which is exactly why we need to cut down the base of the tree instead of going after the fruits. One by one, we should eliminate government departments. One department they could add, taking this function away from all others, is a department of vital statistics which has no regulatory power, but simply consolidates all the reporting done by other departments. We should be able to eliminate a lot of waste by consolidating reports all of which should be published on the internet.
Eventually we take the commerce clause out of the constitution and never again allow the federal government to go beyond their enumerated powers. National defense should be the federal government priority which would include securing our borders from the current invasion.
We need to eliminate the 16th amendment which was a total power grab and reintroduced slavery. It’s time for a consumption tax like the fair tax but definitely not a vat tax.
That leaves local regulations which probably account for more than the federal. But with the federal gone, states can compete again and the effect of reduced regulations should be more apparent.
We also need to change the culture that keeps bright, independent Americans out of jobs, some of which are taken by bright, compliant foreigners.
When you can be kept in school as a “student” until you are in your mid 30s, don’t be surprised if bright, free Americans choose other careers.
That’s what is going on in tech fields.
Part of the problem, I think is that there is an impression that politicians need to “do something”. Whether this is truly what people want, or just what gets reported, I’m not sure.
However, if there was less of a demand for that, it would be easier to ensure politicians didn’t try to increase their control.
Allow freer trade in skilled labor: Bright foreign workers want to stay and create U.S. jobs after graduating here. That’s a better way to address global competition.
Hear, hear. And pass the Dream Act.
securing our borders from the current invasion.
You do realize that illegal immigration is way down, right?
Jim, I live in Phx, AZ. You may have noticed it in the news lately. Illegals are self deporting as well. You know why, right?
“Self-deporting” doesn’t sound like much of an “invasion.”
“Self-deporting” doesn’t sound like much of an “invasion.”
So just how many millions need to be here illegally before you are willing to use the word invasion?
‘“Self-deporting” doesn’t sound like much of an “invasion.”’
“Self-deporting” doesn’t sound like much of an economic recovery. 18 months into the era when the “seas begin to stop rising and the World begins to heal”, economic opportunities seem to be better in Mexico.
Some illegal immigration food for thought. Texas has no income tax. California has that and a state income tax – and it has much more welfare statism. Illegal aliens pay sales taxes, but do not pay income taxes. Which state do you think gets hurt more by illegals?
“Can you count, suckers? I say, the future is ours… if you can count! ”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080120/quotes