With great trepidation that this column will become immediately obsolete or at least very dated in the short time from submitting it to publication, I want to address the whirlwind of regulatory relief announcements from the new Trump Administration. The newly minted, and not even fully staffed, administration has issued orders freezing all regulations in process. Adding further intrigue, it includes a requirement that for every major new regulation an agency proposes, it must also propose rolling back two older, outdated regulations. All these initiatives are designed to remove barriers holding back U.S. economic growth. A Cato Institute report last summer quantified the drag on the American economy as $1.2 trillion in lost economic opportunity.
The clear majority of the previous administration’s regulatory agenda is now under needed scrutiny. Numerous regulations have no justification other than to hinder certain sectors of the economy. Many others have little or no scientific foundation or are based on faulty cost-benefit analysis. Even more have been shoved through the process without the benefit of even cursory review by impacted stakeholders. The new administration is correct in focusing on stopping and rolling back these regulatory excesses.