If you fly across the country, it’s easy to see signs of America’s ingenuity and productivity — skyscrapers in New York City, steel mills in Pennsylvania, factories in Chicago, farmland in the Great Plains, and the glittering technology of Silicon Valley. But what you can’t see, though it’s very real, is the invisible web of red tape crawling forth from Washington, crisscrossing the landscape, strangling job creators, tying down entrepreneurs, and tangling America’s engine of innovation in a mess of regulations. Under the Obama Administration, those endless miles of government-imposed … More
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In a move designed to make it easier for smaller businesses to raise money for expansion and job creation, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R–VA) has announced that he intends to package together six existing smaller bills into a bipartisan package. The combination, to be known as the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, is expected to be joined by similar legislation in the Senate. Cantor’s package provides growing small businesses with relief from a series of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations that sharply limit their ability to raise … More
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Obamacare requires health insurance companies to produce a summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) based on a government-imposed template and glossary. Below is a sampling of the requirements (70 pages) concocted by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury to simplify the task. The summary of benefits and coverage “must be presented in a uniform format, cannot exceed four double-sided pages in length, and must not include print smaller than 12-point font.” It also must “replicate all symbols, formatting, bolding, and shading.” Plans and issuers must … More
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In a new book out this week, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) traces the history of global warming hysteria and concludes it’s a downright hoax. He also reveals how climate-change champions are benefiting financially by promoting the idea. Inhofe’s book, “The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future,” is sure to inspire heated debate on the controversial subject of climate change. As the ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Inhofe has been at the center of that debate for the past 10 years. He’ll … More
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The bosses at the Department of Labor (DOL) have decided that federal wage and overtime provisions should not apply when grandma’s “companion” assists her with toileting. Moreover, said companion is exempt from the regulations as long as he or she sticks to playing cards, watching television, or engaging in hobbies with a charge. But be forewarned: The exemption will be surrendered should a companion dare to dress grandma on a recurring basis, prepare food not consumed in his or her presence, or regularly draw a bath. These and other “personal … More
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Coal energy powers the small Colorado town of Craig — quite literally. The community relies on the energy produced at the Craig Station plant to keep the lights on and the economy moving. New regulations, however, threaten the community’s prosperity. Colorado imposed a renewable energy mandate that stipulates 30 percent of energy production must come from wind, solar and other renewable sources by 2020. “Society cannot have reliable power based on when the wind blows and/or when the sun shines,” said Rick Johnson, plant manager at Craig Station, in a … More
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Pork producers are speaking out against legislation that would give federal regulators the authority to mandate cage sizes for egg-laying hens. They’re worried it could lead to a slippery slope that increases red tape for farmers on a range of issues. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), would impose costs between $4 billion and $10 billion on farm production, according to industry estimates. The legislation requires conventional cages to be replaced with new colony housing for hens — about double their normal size. Among the bill’s other requirements: … More
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Saturday marks the anniversary of the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act, which in 1887 created the first federal regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Although those who created the ICC had no intention of establishing the modern administrative state we now have, the creation of the ICC was an inadvertent first step toward the federal leviathan that governs us today. The ICC was originally created to address growing problems created by the expansion of railroads in America. It was the outgrowth of the “Granger” movement, which took hold … More
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A District of Columbia city council member is calling on the city’s taxicab commission to allow competition to its “mediocre and unreliable” taxi services in the wake of a sting operation aimed at shutting down an innovative car service that officials say violates a number of city laws. If current law prohibits such competition, stated Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), the law should be amended to allow for “improve[d] transportation options for residents and visitors alike.” Cheh’s statement comes days after city officials conducted a sting operation on Uber, an … More
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Ranchers have been allowed to stock zoos and wildlife refuges and export the animals to their native lands without seeking government approval at every turn. The agency also allowed them to generate some of the revenue needed to feed and vaccinate the herds by holding private hunts of surplus, older, non-breeding animals, as well as those with poor genetic traits. But such “profiteering”—even in support of animal rescue—was anathema to Friends of Animals, a group that claims “to cultivate a respectful view of nonhuman animals.” More
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