President Trump pledges to dismantle much of the regulatory state — the amalgam of federal rules, directives and warnings that, aside from advancing many well-known policy goals, are also alleged to have reduced the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. Consistent with this, agencies would be prohibited from promulgating rules that impose regulatory costs on the economy. Higher costs stemming from new regulations would have to be offset by lower costs from existing regulations. At CEI, Wayne Crews Jr. found that in 2015 all federal regulations cost $1.9 trillion, an amount about half the federal budget. Too many restrictions and mandates have been imposed on too many industries, restricting their ability to expand; and regulatory costs undermine companies’ productivity by inflating firms’ overhead.

Source: Washington Post February 06, 2017 00:44 UTC