Freedom from Regulations

            The Libertarian side of me resents a government that insists on telling me what I can and can't do.  When I owned a motorcycle I didn't wear a helmet on short hops where local traffic didn't pose any threats.  I  wore a helmet  on long trips because I felt it was the safe thing to do, not because the government told me I had to.  I based my decision on my own risk analysis, to use a fashionable term.   I feel much the same about seat belts today.  If I want to ride around without one, I should not feel threatened by "Click It or Ticket" laws.  I might be stupid for not wearing a seat belt, but at least it would be my stupid decision.  It's a matter of freedom.  I want to be the one to decide what's good for me, not Mayor Bloomberg or Michelle Obama.

            One of the biggest problems with expansive government is its penchant for regulating every aspect of our lives.  Just the other day I read that magicians must now carry written contingency plans for protecting their rabbits in case of a natural or man-made disaster.  If there's a ranking for the most ridiculous regulation ever devised by government, this one has to be right up there.
            The worst part of government regulations is that they are issued most often without any consideration for the costs they impose.  Ask any small business owner how much time and money is spent on filling out paperwork required by various federal, state, and local agencies.  Such costs are hard to measure, but they are real.
            Speaking of real costs, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) estimates that measurable costs of new regulations issued in 2012 amounted to $23.5 billion.  Of course, that doesn't include the costs of on-going regulations issued in prior years.  For example, EPA regulations issued in the last four years alone total almost $40 billion.   Rules in the pipeline to control ozone emissions, if  not blocked by Congress, are projected to cost $90 billion annually and eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs.  Future auto fuel economy standards will cost $10.8 billion annually, and car buyers will have to fork over an average of $1,800 a vehicle to pay for mandated add-ons. 
            Most maddening for me is the fact that there is no regulatory accountability or transparency.  The Administration ignores the law that requires it to issue regulatory plans and to describe rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact.  Worse, it never gives the public the opportunity to comment on regulations that hinder job creation and innovation and undermine our fundamental freedoms. 
            With every rule and regulation our personal liberty is diminished.  This is not what our Founders envisioned for us in the Land of the Free.