Can one executive order undo an entire presidency? We can only hope. On Tuesday, President Obama issued a seemingly bold proclamation that no longer would the federal government continue to maniacally pile on regulatory binder upon piles of red tape at the cost of economic and job growth.
The president says he is now serious about removing “burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs” and has ordered “a governmentwide review of the rules already on the books to remove outdated regulations that stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive.”
Helpfully, his executive order invited participation by the public, much of which has been frustrated into inaction, and business, most of which has been under attack or in cahoots with Big Government. So here are some quick tips on eliminating rules that are eliminating growth:
Control-Alt-Delete Internet Regulation: The same government that brought you the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Motor Vehicles wants to provide helpful “oversight” of the Internet. The digital revolution’s vast explosion of creativity, wealth, and jobs has been brought on by young, vibrant companies and innovators. Uncle Sam logging on can only block job and economic growth.
Every Breath We Take: As the president noted, until last month the Environmental Protection Agency classified the sweetener saccharin as hazardous waste. Any agency that far behind the curve ought not be regulating sources of carbon dioxide. First, they’ll start with large sources, but look out for mission creep toward cow burps as they wait for you to exhale.
Party Like It’s 1099: Among the disastrous requirements stuck into Obamacare (apparently by individuals who have never run a small business) is a costly and time-consuming requirement on employers to provide a 1099 IRS document to every single vendor providing services over $600. The rule would provide the most harm to the small employers that are viewed by so many as the engine of job growth.
Davis-Bacon Act: A Depression-era rule designed to help a special interest that is an historical anachronism and that arguably harms blacks, Hispanics, and women-owned businesses should not be on the books. Yet congressional Democrats and the president have sought to expand this rule that clearly meets the definition of “outdated.”
OSHA on Record: Quietly, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been building its portfolio of mind-boggling regulations. For instance, the agency plans to require companies to keep an additional injury record for “muskuloskeletal disorders” that would double-count complaints (driving up the number of ostensible workplace injuries in the nation and thereby increasing the need for further OSHA regulation) and capture dubious aches and pains from outside the workplace, including tennis elbow, gardening casualties, and side effects from couchpotatoitis.
Like so many proverbial lawyers at the bottom of the sea, this is only a good start. But it’s a beginning that begs a bigger question: Would undoing all these regulations leave Obama with much of a presidency? After all, these governmental forays into all corners of our lives appear to be the purpose of, rather than unintended consequence to, his occupancy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Forgive a skeptic, but until Obama takes on the difficult task of really attacking his own bad regulatory push, wait and see is still the rule for this government.
Bret Jacobson is a partner at Maverick Strategies + Communications.
