An alarming new report from the Phoenix Center came to a shocking conclusion on the impact of government regulations — the average federal regulator destroys 138 private sector jobs a year.
To wrap our heads around how disgraceful this statistic is, let’s keep in mind that the four richest counties in the United States are all Washington D.C. suburbs. The implication is clear; Washington D.C. enriches itself while doling out pink slips to the rest of America.
With this in mind, the Phoenix Center concludes that in order to get the economy moving again, “an excellent place to start would be to investigate responsible cuts in the size of the federal regulatory bureaucracy.” Shrinking the size of the unelected and unaccountable agencies policing the rest of the country will stem the destruction of American jobs.
The report also reveals the impact of the flood of red tape added during the Obama administration. The Phoenix Center found that “a 10% reduction in the regulatory budget ($5.6 billion)— which implies a return to pre-Obama Administration levels—leads to an increase of 3 million new jobs annually.” Additionally, a 10 percent reduction in the regulatory state will add “$224 billion” to our economy.
Despite the huge regulatory toll on our economy, President Trump has offered encouraging signals that he will soon be draining the swamp. His target of reducing regulations by 75 percent, as well as his 2-out-1-in decree on new regulations, took positive first steps towards reining in bloated bureaucracies. With an economy that grew at only 1.6 percent last quarter, America must take an all-of-the-above approach to create a stronger economy.
A great place to start would be with major budget cuts to regulatory agencies.
Photo Credit: Department for Communities and Local Government
The Average Federal Regulator Destroys 138 Private Sector Jobs per Year
