“THE PROBLEM WITH SOCIALISM IS THAT YOU EVENTUALLY, RUN OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY.” - Margaret Thatcher
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Red Tape Rising: Obama's Torrent of New Regulation | The Heritage Foundation
Red Tape Rising: Obama's Torrent of New Regulation | The Heritage Foundation: "The burden of regulation on Americans increased at an alarming rate in fiscal year 2010. Based on data from the Government Accountability Office, an unprecedented 43 major new regulations were imposed by Washington. 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. With the enactment of new health care laws, financial regulations, and plans for rulemaking in other areas, the regulatory burden on Americans is set to increase even further in the coming year."
Pay attention congress
THE ISSUE
The federal government is out of control. Congress passes massive pieces of legislation with little regard to constitutional limits. By vastly exceeding its proper bounds, the federal government continually centralizes and increasingly regulates much of America's economy, politics and society.
Congress must immediately reestablish legislative accountability by posting complete legislation, ending earmarks, reviewing all unauthorized programs and respecting constitutional limits on government. Congress must check executive branch overreach with aggressive oversight, roll back recent government interventions, stop unnecessary administrative regulations and sunset new ones, restrict bureaucrats’ rulemaking authority and override expansive executive orders.
THE FACTS
- Massive Regulatory Costs: In FY 2010, 43 major regulations costing more than $26 billion were issued by the Obama Administration, the highest annual total on record. The burden of federal regulation per year totals $1.7 trillion--more than Americans annually pay in personal income taxes.
- Irresponsible Lawmaking: Congress passes massive laws, written behind closed doors, filled with arcane cross-references that most Members of Congress neither read nor understand--effectively turning over lawmaking to unaccountable staff and unelected bureaucrats.
- Earmarks Against the National Interest: According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, the House spending bills for fiscal year 2011 decreased earmarks to 3,000. The Senate bills contained over 3,700 earmarks worth $6.0 billion, a substantial increase.
- Permanent by Default: According to the Congressional Budget Office, 250 expired federal programs are nevertheless being funded, costing taxpayers $290 billion in FY 2010.
CONGRESS MUST
- Provide Legislative Text: Each House of Congress must adopt a rule requiring the public posting of the text of each bill and major amendment not less than 72 hours before floor debate on that bill or amendment.
- Plain English Legislation: For the sake of clarity and accountability and to end the practice of vague references, all language in proposed legislation should be accompanied by a document clearly marking all changes and deletions from existing law, as is now done only after a law passes.
- Stop Earmarks: Congress must permanently end the earmarking process which favors local pork projects over the national interest.
- End Automatic Funding: Any program (other than for physical protection of Americans) that Congress has not reauthorized must be suspended for review. Committees must not be permitted to create new programs with automatic funding or that specify minimum funding levels to circumvent the appropriations process.
- Reassert Constitutional Limits: Rather than deferring to courts, Congress must promptly repeal any unconstitutional legislation enacted by previous Congresses, consider the constitutionality of pending bills and assert constitutional limits on the size and scope of government.
- Conduct Aggressive Oversight: In order to enforce legislative intent, Congress must aggressively oversee how laws are being carried out, determine their effectiveness and review their impact on society, jobs and the economy.
- Roll Back Government Intervention: Congress must divest the federal government as soon as possible of all assets acquired in the TARP and similar programs, and prevent such interventions in the future.
- Stop Unnecessary Regulations: Congress must use the Congressional Review Act to stop new and unnecessary regulations. If the President blocks such action, Congress must use appropriations riders to prohibit agencies from adopting such rules.
- Sunset New Regulations: To prevent the perpetuation of outdated regulations, all new regulations must include a "sunset" date on which they expire automatically unless specifically renewed.
- Check Executive Orders: If an executive order issued by the President is based upon authority under a statutory grant of power, Congress must expedite a process to consider negating or modifying the underlying authority, and Congress should override inappropriate executive orders on that basis
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Regulatory Costs Are Boiling Over | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.
Regulatory Costs Are Boiling Over | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.: "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been ordered to issue job-killing regulations that the agency and industry both agree are faulty and unfeasible. The EPA’s blunder is an object lesson on the costly consequences of reckless rulemaking and regulatory excess"
Obama Orders Study on Socialism - Chuck Norris - Townhall Conservative
Obama Orders Study on Socialism - Chuck Norris - Townhall Conservative: "But isn't the federal government's review (or audit) of itself a little like the Mexican drug mafia's reviewing illegal border crossings?"
New Heroes vs. Old - Thomas Sowell - Townhall Conservative
New Heroes vs. Old - Thomas Sowell - Townhall Conservative: "People today who complain about the automobile's pollution have no idea how much more pollution there was before the automobile came along. In New York City, for example, the 40,000 horses that were the backbone of the city's transportation, before the automobile, produced 400 tons of manure per working day, along with 20,000 gallons of urine."
Monday, January 24, 2011
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