October 8, 2018
Like him or hate him, President Trump is doing a great job on deregulation. He seems to get a bad rap no matter what, but on this one, he deserves credit.
The federal fiscal year ended on September 30 with regulations being slashed at record rates. In fact, more than half of the 22 federal agencies met or surpassed the president’s regulatory savings targets months ahead of schedule.
The overall goal was to achieve almost $687 million in savings from regulatory cuts. The actual amount achieved was more than double the goal.
While those figures are tiny compared to our trillions in national debt, more than $1 billion in regulatory cuts is significant.
Regulation and government involvement in business costs almost $2 trillion annually. If U.S. regulation were a nation, it would have the eighth largest economy on Earth.
President Trump has called for two regulations to be cut for every new one added, and it’s working.
The Federal Register, the record of federal regulation, has been cut from 95,894 pages in 2016 to 61,308 in 2017. In 2018, it will be even smaller.
Businesses win as a result, because as of 2017, small businesses spend more than 80 hours and $83,000 every year on regulations.
Less time and money spent on government rules helps businesses invest and grow with more certainty.
In other words, cutting the rules is a good thing.