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  • Tales of the Red Tape

    Tales of the Red Tape is a special series on The Foundry that exposes some of the more egregious federal regulations that have multiplied by an unprecedented degree in the past year.

    Tales of the Red Tape #6: Equine Equality Under the ADA

    Every business must comply with a mind-boggling range of regulations, but the latest regulatory “guidance” on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may be the last straw—literally. Hotels, restaurants, airlines and the like must now modify “policies, practices, or procedures” to accommodate miniature horses as service animals. The new guidelines, … More

    Tales of the Red Tape #5: Calorie Counts Forced Down Our Throats

    You’re too fat, and vending machines are to blame. The government says so and is doing something about it. To temper the snack food cravings we are supposedly incapable of controlling, Congress is forcing vendors to post the calorie counts of vending machine items. Thus, we’ll supposedly pick the healthier … More

    Tales of the Red Tape #4: The Unwitting Peddlers of Toxic Tomes

    Pity the poor librarians. Those gentle custodians of the written word currently find themselves in a regulatory purgatory of sorts wherein compliance with hellish safety standards threatens to defy their hallowed purpose of providing books for all. It is a dilemma borne of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of … More

    Tales of the Red Tape #3: Don’t Touch That Dial!

    In the age of the TV remote and DVR, when viewers can adjust (or mute!) volume or skip commercials entirely without moving from the couch, it’s hard to fathom why Congress would consider it necessary to regulate the decibel levels of television advertising. But that’s precisely the purpose of the … More

    Tales of the Red Tape #2: The EPA is Fueling Nonsense

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is suffering policy schizophrenia. On the one hand, it has ordered automakers to increase fuel efficiency to save the planet from global warming. On the other hand, it is setting higher quotas of ethanol in gasoline, which will decrease fuel efficiency and increase emissions of … More

    Tales of the Red Tape #1: We See Dead People

    Images of bloodless corpses and gasping babies would have to cover at least 50 percent of each cigarette pack under regulation proposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although smoking rates have declined steadily for the past 40 years—down 52 percent since 1965—and every kindergartner can recite the evils … More