The Bureaucratic States of America: A nation covered with red tape

In June 2013, Harvard economic and international historian Niall Ferguson wrote a column in the Wall Street Journal titled “The Regulated States of America.” The piece eloquently, yet frankly, described the growing gargantuan American bureaucracy. The piece used Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic study of American society, “Democracy in America,” as a basis.

De Tocqueville’s magnum opus, published in two volumes in 1835 and 1840, observed the unique qualities that made the United States an exceptional place. Government intervention was minimal and personal and private associations were prevalent. De Tocqueville recognized that Americans relied less on their government and more on their own efforts. Throughout the years, Americans cultivated their emerging nation through personal industriousness and responsibility.

De Tocqueville did not, however, ignore prospective problems that the young country could ultimately face. He warned of the dangers of an over-intrusive government, writing that it “rarely forces one to act, but it constantly opposes itself to one’s acting; it does not destroy, it prevents things from being born; it does not tyrannize, it hinders.”

The reality is that Americans’ freedoms are being restricted, most notably economically. This shift from personal responsibility to reliance on government, which is often forced upon citizens, is the result of a nation suffocating from an abundance of red tape wrapped around it.

The enormous federal bureaucracy best characterizes our growing federal government’s intrusiveness, inefficiency and ineffectiveness.

The 2012 Federal Register, the official directory of regulation, totals a massive 78,961 pages and is growing. Consider endeavoring to gain a thorough understanding of modern mandated government regulations. The reality is that you couldn’t — or at least not in time to stay current. Presently, roughly 4,062 regulations are in the process of being implemented.

Because of this, businesses, especially small businesses, cannot keep up. Per employee, the costs of regulation on small businesses are 36 percent higher than they are for their larger counterparts.

Due to overbearing intrusiveness and superfluous regulation by the federal government, prosperity is hindered, not promoted. In fact, the last time regulation saw a rollback was under President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. During his administration, the amount of pages in the Federal Register dropped by 31 percent. What happened during those years? Did the stock market plummet? Did the economy take a turn for the worse? Did Americans suffer from the reduction of the grand federal bureaucracy?

Not quite. In fact, the GDP rose by 30 percent.

Since 1993, the federal government has reverted back to its role as nanny. Since then, 81,883 new rules have been enacted. Perhaps more appalling is another statistical reality.

Congress is the facet of government that should most influence public policy. After all, it is supposed to most represent the people. Despite this, new rules issued by the 63 federal government departments, agencies and commissions have outnumbered laws passed by Congress 223-to-1.

If this many rules and regulations are involuntarily being thrown onto our nation’s citizens, why is there so little resistance? Shouldn’t we want a government that encourages freedom, rather than one that restricts it? Well, one of the greatest political philosophers in American history accurately predicted today’s current phenomenon.

James Madison once said, “I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”

As Americans, we have been fortunate. We have been spared from demagogic dictators and vindictive monarchs. On Inauguration Day, we are blessed to witness a peaceful transition of power between two often-opposing figures.

What are most harmful to Americans are contemporary insidious abridgments of freedom.

I am not alone in believing this. Three-fourths of Americans think that businesses are over-regulated. Over-regulation is grossly ubiquitous and severely unnecessary. It is terribly difficult (for good reason) to find a person with actual business experience or real-world involvement who could truthfully dispute this notion.

Even if people think these regulations do not affect them, they do. According to the Journal of Economic Growth, the increase of federal regulations over the past six decades has cut U.S. economic growth by an average of two percentage points per year. Consequently, American households receive about $227,000 less annually than they would have gotten without six decades of accumulated regulations. That’s the difference between a potential median household income of $330,000 and the current one of $53,000.

Over-regulation impacts us all, with three-fourths of Americans thinking that businesses are over-regulated. Ultimately, there is a place for government — for that there is no doubt. The place is not, however, in every single aspect of daily life.

Mandating that a child obtain a permit to establish a lemonade stand, regulating soft drink sizes and forcing thousands and thousands of pages of superfluous paperwork upon businesses are by no means benefiting society.

Despite its current state, our system is not irrevocable and can certainly be fixed. For this to happen, considerable amounts of red tape must be removed, or the consequence will be negatively felt by all current and future generations of Americans.

Write Matt at mrb111@pitt.edu.