Libertarians cautiously hopeful Trump will reduce regulatory burden

Ellen Wheeler Wilcox, author and poet

Today Libertarians praised President Donald Trump’s goal of reducing federal government regulations by 75 percent and expressed hope that his plan to counter any new regulation with the elimination of two existing regulations serves to reduce the massive regulatory burden that Americans suffer under today.

Libertarians caution that some regulations impose 100 times the burden that others do. So a two-for-one deal won’t necessarily result in a net reduction in red tape, bureaucratic obstruction, or needless government meddling in people’s lives.

“Progress requires that any new regulation be less onerous than that which it replaces,” said Nicholas Sarwark, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee.

The damaging effect of government over-regulation is widespread:

• Government regulations diminish human freedom.
• Government regulations prevent businesses from forming or expanding, killing millions of American jobs.
• Government regulations hamper Americans’ ability to compete in world markets.
• Government regulations constrain human prosperity, leaving many Americans financially insecure.
• Federal government regulations cost hundreds of billions of dollars to administer and force Americans to spend $1.9 trillion for compliance every year. State and local government regulations add to this burden.
• Government regulations typically do more harm than good. As one example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alone kills many thousands of Americans every year by making drugs unaffordable and by making it financially infeasible for drug researchers to develop needed drugs such as antibiotics and cures for rare diseases.

Removing unneeded regulations will have the opposite effect: More freedom, better health, more prosperity, and a thriving economy.
“The American economy rose to unprecedented heights and became the envy of the world before today’s regulatory regime took hold,” said Nicholas Sarwark, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. “If we’re going to create jobs and make America great, it must include a massive reduction in government meddling in businesses and in the lives of Americans.”

It is easy to tell the toiler
how best he can carry his pack.
But no one can rate a burden’s weight
until it has been on his back
– Ella Wheeler Wilcox