Red Tape Rising: Regulation in the Obama Era

Stephen Keen / April 02, 2010

Americans are endlessly paying taxes–on their income, on their property, on almost anything they purchase. But the heavy burden that the U.S. government places on its citizens does not stop there. It continues with a slew of hidden taxes imposed by an ever-larger number of government regulations. These regulatory taxes do not appear on any balance sheet, yet cost Americans about $1 trillion every year.

The recently released Heritage Backgrounder, “Red Tape Rising: Regulation in the Obama Era,” measures the regulatory impact of the outgoing Bush Administration and the new Obama Administration (following up on earlier assessments released in 2004 and 2008).

Specifically, the report finds that: (more…)