Our friends at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) have recently launched what they call Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State.
CEI discusses regulation as one of three ways to pay for government programs (the other two being increased taxes and borrowed money), but the system requiring the least amount of transparency and accountability. Much of this is because regulatory costs are unbudgeted and lack formal presentation to the public and media, leading the government to direct private sector resources without a whole lot of commotion, or shall we say awareness. Scattered government and private data on agency regulatory cost and benefits help CEI comprise their annual report, which they hope will hold government leaders accountable to the taxpayers they serve.
A few highlights of 10KC 2010:
- President Barack Obama's federal budget for fiscal year (FY) 2011 proposes $3.83 trillion in discretionary, entitlement, and interest spending.
- A very rough extrapolation from an evaluation of the federal regulatory enterprise by economist Mark Crain estimates that annual regulatory compliance costs hit $1.187 trillion in 2009.
- Combining regulatory costs with federal FY 2009 outlays of $3.518 trillion implies that the federal government's share of the economy now reaches 33%.
- Regulatory costs exceed estimated 2009 individual income taxes of $953 billion by 25%.
- In 2009, agencies issued 3,503 final rules.
Go here for more information.