Opinion Piece by Susan Dudley
Regulatory policy is a central issue in the 2012 presidential race, as the Republicans and Democrats stake out their positions.
Republicans blame President Barack Obama and the Democrats for excessive, job-killing regulations, while Democrats warn of the wholesale deregulation of financial and environmental safeguards if Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney wins.
But are these caricatures accurate? Not according to government statistics — which show that, except for Ronald Reagan and Obama, Republican and Democratic administrations have issued new regulations at the exact same rate. Nonetheless, the new focus on the effects of regulation suggests that the outcome in November could have a significant effect on the size and reach of the regulatory state. Do Democrats regulate and Republicans deregulate?
(Source: POLITICO, 9/12/12, “Government Regulations: Rhetoric vs. Reality,” by Susan Dudley, Director of the The George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center)