From Ronald Reagan's chief economist...
As for the idea that cutting regulations will lead to significant job growth, Bartlett said in an interview, "It's just nonsense. It's just made up."
Government and industry studies support his view.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks companies' reasons for large layoffs, found that 1,119 layoffs were attributed to government regulations in the first half of this year, while 144,746 were attributed to poor "business demand."
I think things being just made up are a cornerstone of conservative economic theory.
2 comments:
Like guns, regulations are tools. They can be used for good or for evil.
When regulations create protections for the health and safety of workers and the general population that apply to everyone equally, they provide a level playing field for all businesses and promote competitiveness, giving an advantage to those firms that can most efficiently provide quality products and services.
But when business and government conspire to write regulations that preserve monopolies or grant advantages to players with connections, they are corrosive and destructive.
For example, the tax laws are riddled with thousands of favors granted to special interest groups, which is why companies like GE pay zero taxes, while companies without any pull on Congressional committees pay a lot more.
And of course the cumulative weight of regulations across industries and areas of endeavour had nothing to do with the general business climate. All this study points out is those losses directly caused by over-regulation, and then blithely assuming there are no indirect effects.
Post a Comment