What’s the monster under the bed keeping Americans up at night? Government regulations. According to a new poll, most voters say that too many federal government regulations are more of an economic threat than too few. Resurgent Republic reports:
By a margin of 55 to 36 percent, voters are more concerned that the federal government has too many regulations that will hurt the economy, rather than too few regulations to hold private businesses accountable. Republicans are more concerned about too many regulations by 77 to 16 percent, as are Independents by 55 to 35 percent. Only Democrats are concerned about too few regulations by 56 to 36 percent.
Digging deeper into the data, the fear over too many federal government regulations spans all age, income, and education levels – including a majority of all union households.
It’s no wonder they’re so concerned. Regulations are increasing dramatically and are imposing a hidden tax on Americans. The Heritage Foundation reports in “Red Tape Rising: Obama’s Torrent of New Regulation”:
Based on data from the Government Accountability Office, an unprecedented 43 major new regulations were imposed by Washington [in FY2010]. And based on reports from government regulators themselves, the total cost of these rules topped $26.5 billion, far more than any other year for which records are available. These costs will affect Americans in many ways, raising the price of the cars they buy and the food they eat, while destroying an untold number of jobs.
More expensive food and cars, while killing jobs? No wonder Americans fear regulations.
