When you ask small business owners from Nevada to Pennsylvania what the greatest obstacle in the way of their success is, they echo what numerous studies have indicated for months: government regulations. They’ll point to specific rules like the lead renovation, repair and painting rule, which impose costly and redundant training and certification costs on painters, plumbers and remodeling contractors. Or they might discuss new threats that are in the works, such as an EPA rule under White House review that could set new limits for commercial boiler emissions, which are already so closely regulated they can barely be measured.
But overwhelmingly, small businesses point out the paralysis and uncertainty they feel because of the nearly 4,200 pending regulations backed up in the pipeline. Over the last five years the number of rules costing $100 million or more has increased by 60 percent. In 2010 alone, the number of major rules introduced increased by over 20 percent from the previous year. These figures are a clear indicator of how out of balance the system has become, and it’s having real consequences for the business community. Earlier this year, a Gallup poll found 85 percent of small businesses aren’t hiring. Nearly half said government regulations were a reason why.
(Source: The Huffington Post, 6/6/12, “Obama’s Regulatory Moment,” by Former U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln)