Letter to the Editor: Reader claims the regulatory climate inhibits job growth

At Rep. McMorris Rodgers’ public forum in Davenport, one of several in August, too many regulations was the major concern. A local bureaucrat expressed frustration with micromanaging from Washington DC interfering with efficiency and effectiveness in delivering services. Public officials cited examples of unfunded mandates. A small business owner (me) complained about the daunting task of trying to create just one new job without getting sideways with some obscure rule. Did you know we have federal regulations defining an acceptable trash receptacle for a hired goatherder camping out in a field? If we remain a mom and pop operation, we don’t have to worry about quite so many rules. As soon as we create a job, there are rules for not only the trash receptacle but the cleanability of cooking surfaces and a comfortable bed.

According to Investor’s Business Daily, “the number of pages in the Federal Register — where all new rules must be published and which serves as proxy of regulatory activity — jumped 18% in 2010.” Regulatory agency budgets have grown by 16% since 2008 at a time when the overall economy grew 5%, and employment at regulatory agencies has grown by 13% while private sector jobs shrank by 5.6%.

In fairness to President Obama, this trend started years ago. The danger is the exponential acceleration and a President in denial that there's a problem. Before we can solve it we must admit it exists. Regulatory overload is real. McMorris Rodgers gets it.

Sue Lani W. Madsen

Edwall