Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Harsanyi: Obama isn't fooling anyone on regulation reform

Like myself, the Denver Post's David Harsanyi is skeptical of President Obama's pledge to "root out regulations that conflict, that are not worth the cost, or that are just plain dumb."

Sounds rather subjective, though, don't you think? How do we gauge excessive regulation in the Age of Obama? I can't recall a single federal program, legislation or proposal in the past two years that was initiated to ease the burden on consumers or businesses. (If you know of any, please send specifics to sorry@dowelooklikesuckers.com.)

Obama doesn't have to look far, if he's serious. Nor does he need an executive order. Right now the EPA is drafting carbon rules to force on states, even though a similarly torturous 2,000 pages on a cap-and-trade scheme intending to make power more expensive was rejected. Maybe there's something in that pile of paper to mine?

Right now, the FCC is shoving net neutrality in the pipeline — again, bypassing Congress — so government can regulate the Internet for the first time in history, though the commissioners themselves admit that, as of now, any need for rules are based on the what-ifs of their imaginations.

There exists no legislation more burdensome and expensive than the "job-crushing" (not "job-killing," because, naturally, we can't stand for that kind of imagery) "Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act," formerly known as Obamacare and presently being symbolically repealed by House Republicans.
As I blogged last night, the National Labor Relations Board is threatening to sue four states that want to ban union card check. Instead of bypassing Congress, Obama is bypassing state legislatures.

Sorry, Mr. President, I'm not buying your newly-found dislike of government regulations.

Related posts:

Prove me wrong on your executive order, Obama: Speed up issuance of offshore drilling permits

Two Obamas--and I believe the real one still hates business

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