by Christine Hall
July 10, 2008

Washington, D.C., July 10, 2008—What goes up and doesn’t come down? The federal budget and the cost of federal regulations. A new report finds that the cost of federal regulations on consumers at a staggering $1.16 trillion in 2007.

“The bottom line is that federal government regulations ate nearly 10 percent of what the U.S. economy produced last year,” said Wayne Crews, author of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State.

“At the same time,” said Crews, “government is also spending more than ever before -- $2.73 trillion; and the President has submitted a $3 trillion spending plan for next year. Between paying for government and paying to comply with government regulations, it’s a crushing burden for American businesses and workers.”

Among the report’s findings:

• Given that 2007 government spending reached $2.73 trillion, the hidden tax of regulation now approaches half the level of federal spending itself.
• Regulation costs more than seven times the $163 billion budget deficit.
• Regulations cost about as much as U.S. corporations earn in pre-tax profits ($1.16 trillion versus $1.3 trillion, respectively).
• Regulations cost about as much as individual income tax collections ($1.16 trillion versus 1.17 trillion, respectively).

• “Economically significant” regulations – new rules that cost at least $100 million -- increased by 14 percent between 2006 and 2007, from 139 to 159.

The solution to the crushing level of federal regulations on the lives and livelihoods of American workers? The report urges a series of reforms to make the cost of regulation more transparent and accountable to the people. For example, there should be annual “report cards” on the costs and benefits of regulations. And Congress should be required to vote on significant agency rules before they become binding.

Read the report: Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State.