Americans are endlessly paying taxes–on their income, on their property, on almost anything they purchase. But the heavy burden that the U.S. government places on its citizens does not stop there. It continues with a slew of hidden taxes imposed by an ever-larger number of government regulations. These regulatory taxes do not appear on any balance sheet, yet cost Americans about $1 trillion every year.
The recently released Heritage Backgrounder, “Red Tape Rising: Regulation in the Obama Era,” measures the regulatory impact of the outgoing Bush Administration and the new Obama Administration (following up on earlier assessments released in 2004 and 2008).
Specifically, the report finds that:
- During fiscal year 2009, regulations costing some $14 billion were adopted by the Bush and Obama Administrations, more than in any year since 1992.
- A majority of these new regulatory costs were imposed by the outgoing Bush Administration, although costs imposed by the Obama White House were large for an incoming Administration.
- Regulatory burdens will likely increase at even higher rates in 2010, given regulatory efforts in health care, energy, financial services, telecommunications, and elsewhere.
Anyone who uses electricity, drives a car, has a job, visits a doctor, owns stocks, or patronizes a bank is affected by federal regulation and should take note of this report.
It's just the government giving themselves more excuses for becoming the "Nanny state," and to say they are doing something to justify asking us to pay more for what "they" want, rather then what "We" want or need. This is really a troubling time to have the government "choke" buisnesses out of existance with over-regulation when history has shown that the opposite is needed during down times.
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I deal with federal and state regulations every day. In a recent meeting with a federal agency we asked that a particular required activity be reduced in frequency, as such frequency is no longer necessary, and the cost is substantial. The response was that it could not be addressed any time soon. When I asked why, I was told that they are, and will be, just too busy drafting new regulations !
This is exactly why the people should never allow any government to make laws that it has no business making. This is why and what the founding fathers tried to prevent. Smaller governments are easier to run, less invasive, can get the job (designed to do) done, and can be controlled.
Americans have begged for this. They have pissed their freedoms away all in the hopes of getting some special agenda they support passed as law forgetting or not caring the cost of such law. Americans it seems do not want freedom so much as they want cradle to grave care. Sad, very, very sad. And… it is getting worse not better.
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The goverment is killling America and needs to be stopped. They tax everything I do. I can't even go to the bathroom without paying a tax. They need to be stopped. The American Goverment is the Axis of Evil.