SMALL BUSINESS AND THE AMAZING REGULATION MACHINE
It reminds me of the task of clearing the minefields in Europe after WWII. The problem was each warring nation had laid mines on top of the other, and after the war no one knew exactly where they all were. They still had swept channels in the Baltic and North Seas as late as the 1950’s.
The 50 United States and our local and federal governments have done the same thing here with all forms of regulation. Small business owners need a minesweeper to get them through this maze of interwoven and duplicate regulation, but sweepers are too expensive for all but the very largest.
Small business creates and houses most of the jobs in this country. How many times have you heard some Congress or White House spokesperson say that? The politicians talk a good game, but the truth is small business is treated like they’re bad people who need close watching to keep them in line. The end result of this approach too often is loss of business and loss of jobs.
Ask any small business owner what’s her or his biggest problem. They’ll all tell you it’s filling out all the forms and otherwise complying with federal regulation, much of which by any test of reason or common sense is unnecessary or counter-productive and often designed and passed by Congress to control Big Business. Add to this a plethora of interwoven state and local copycat regulation, and compliance becomes more than just a headache. The cost in productivity and making ends meet can be debilitating when you can’t afford to pay an expert to handle compliance.
Why doesn’t the White House establish an independent group to sift through the labor, environmental, and other major areas of regulation applicable to a defined level of small business? Such a group can identify duplication, unnecessary overlap, interwoven contradictions, and test the true necessity of every provision as it applies to small business. The difficulty of course lies in the politics and agendas of special interest groups in regulating everything you do in their area.
How might President Obama find an unbiased observer to study these issues and recommend solutions?
The Princeton Review lists over 50 top colleges who offer graduate degrees in Entrepreneurial Studies. It lists them 1-50 by stated criteria. This might be a good place to start. Most, if not all, of these schools receive federal grants, and some of them are state owned, but many should be willing and able to conduct this research and analysis on a truly independent basis, without succumbing to outside pressures.
We need strong and vibrant small business. It’s time for Congress and the rest of the huge government apparatus we’ve created in this country to simplify, streamline, and pare down to essentials the amazing grid of regulation that is strangling American competitiveness at the very roots of our economy.
We need a good minesweeper to clear the way to success.
