A Way Forward on Regulatory Reform

Kevin Glass Jun 01, 2014

The need for regulatory reform is obvious to anyone paying attention. The size of the federal regulatory code has exploded in the last few decades, crippling the ability of businesses to form, grow, and succeed in the American economy.  The "how" question is a bit more difficult. Two Mercatus economists have set about attempting to answer that question.

Patrick McLaughlin and Richard Williams write:

Given the consequences of regulatory accumulation and the repeated failures of agency- and president-led attempts at reform, congressional action may be required to address this problem. A successful regulatory reform act will include most or all of the following characteristics:

1. The process should entail independent assessment of whether regulations are nonfunctional.
2. The process should ensure there is no special treatment of any group or stakeholder.
3. The process should use a standard method of assessment that is difficult to subvert.
4. Whatever the procedure for assessment, assessments of specific regulations or regulatory programs should focus on whether and how they lead to the outcomes desired.
5. Regulatory agencies should be recognized as another important stakeholder, with incentives to keep and increase regulation.
6. Congressional action—such as a joint resolution of disapproval—should be required in order to stop the recommendations, as opposed to a vote to enact or not enact.
7. The review process should repeat indefinitely.

Conservatives talk a lot in broad platitudes about the need for regulatory reform, but it's important to actually translate those principles into action.  This Appeared Here!

 

My Take – This is an applaudable effort, and may seem effective, the same problem exists they're attempting to resolve....Definition! It's hard to define what "outcomes" are desired. It's hard to define who "stakeholders" are supposed to be. It's hard to define "nonfunctional" regulations. It's hard to define what a "standard method of assessment" is to all parties. However, I have a solution that is foundational to all of this. Repeal the 16th and 17th amendments. The first will starve the federal bureaucracy and the second will devolve power from the central government. After that repeal of the Endangered Species Act, the Clear Water Act, the Clean Air Acts will be much easier and they can start over again to eliminate the corruption that has become part of all of these acts, and turn the authority over to the states for enforcement and definition. Will there be corruption going in both directions when that happens. Of course! We're dealing with people and people will always be people. However these will be smaller corruptions than exist at the federal level and easier to fix.