America can no longer afford the out-of-control nanny state

The hidden burden of regulation

Obama’s first term created nearly $500 billion in red tape

Americans cashing their first paychecks of the year are starting to feel the pain. Higher taxes in the “fiscal cliff” deal are just the beginning of the extra cash Uncle Sam will be collecting in 2013. The unprecedented expansion in regulation on President Obama’s watch means wallets are going to be much thinner by the end of the year.

According to an analysis released on Monday by the American Action Forum, Mr. Obama in his first term added nearly half a trillion dollars to the cost of doing business.

• In 2012, the administration shattered all records by imposing $236 billion in red tape.
• Regulators added an average of 315 pages worth of new directives and red tape every day in the first nine months, telling the public what it could and couldn’t do. 
• The pages governing Obamacare will require Americans to spend 44 million hours filling out forms created by the president’s health care takeover. 
• Thanks to the Dodd-Frank bill, businesses will have to find an extra 33 million hours to spend on compliance efforts.

The manufacturing sector will be hardest hit, having to come up with $15 billion to follow the administration’s new rules, based on official estimates. That’s equal to the cost of hiring 300,000 productive new employees.

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