Our heavy handed regulatory state
Congress enacted 175 laws in 2024 but federal agencies issued 19 rules for every law passed.
The Wall Street Journal reminds us that Competitive Enterprise Institute’s annual “Ten Thousand Commandments” is out.
Congress has ceded so much authority on lawmaking that unelected bureaucrats look like to be the true rulers. Congress loves to delegate and eschew responsibility and then turn around and point fingers (and fundraise off of it) at the agencies when things fall apart. It’s easier to let agencies issue thousands of mandates than roll up your sleeves or take tough votes.
Here’s just a snippet of the takeaways from the report:
- Federal regulation’s total compliance costs and economic effects are at least $2.155 trillion annually in Ten Thousand Commandments’ estimate, and almost certainly higher. Last year’s total was $2.117 trillion.
- An October 2023 National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) report models regulatory compliance at $3.079 trillion annually.
- US households pay on average $16,016 annually in a hidden regulatory tax, which consumes 16 percent of income and 21 percent of household expenses.
- These household outlays exceed expenditures on health care, food, transportation, entertainment, apparel, services, and savings. Only the costs of housing, which stand at $25,436 annually, exceed regulation.
Sadly, those are just the first four on the list. Read all of them here if you’re not sufficiently depressed yet.
— The Federalism Beat