Regulators! Mount Up!

Matt Welch | August 29, 2005

One of the last lines of defense among libertarians who still support this Big Government administration is "Yeah, but at least he's keeping a cap on regulations." Well, so much for that:

The FY 2006 Budget requests that Congress allocate $41.4 billion for regulatory activities, up from $39.5 billion in 2005. This reflects a 4.8 percent increase in outlays directed at writing, administering, and enforcing federal regulations. The regulators' budget is growing at a faster rate than other nondiscretionary spending, which the President's budget held to only 2.1 percent in 2006. Since 2000, the regulators' budget has grown an amazing 46 percent, after adjusting for inflation.

At least we'll always have "The other guy's worse"! Whole thing here; link via Glenn Reynolds.

Comments

|8.29.05 @ 4:37PM|#

Don't forget, libertarians also like the fact that Bush privatized Social Security. Or at least he will. Eventually.

Well, he talks about it sometimes, anyway.

|8.29.05 @ 4:43PM|#

He's the worst President since Johnson, at least.

|8.29.05 @ 4:46PM|#

Which Johnson? :)

|8.29.05 @ 4:47PM|#

Worst since Andrew Johnson.

|8.29.05 @ 5:03PM|#

again, so much to say against this administration.
from europe at least it seems america is stuck with republicans forever ever, are there any political parties opposing these people in the next election?
Cant remember the last time I heard of the democrats..

|8.29.05 @ 5:19PM|#

Which Johnson? : )

FDR sucked in a lot of ways. Can I say Bush is the worst President since FDR?

...Yeah, but with Johnson, I get to suggest Bush's expansion of the Great Society as well as the 'ol quagmire.

|8.29.05 @ 5:20PM|#

Atleast he hasn't frozen prices yet.

|8.29.05 @ 5:24PM|#

From your lips to his ears, ElamBend.

|8.29.05 @ 5:45PM|#

Problem is, the 'other guy' likely IS worse--or at least no better.

Very depressing times to be a 'conservatarian'.

|8.29.05 @ 6:57PM|#

"Regulators! Mount Up!"

I'm not a generally a fan of rap music....but I love that song.

|8.29.05 @ 7:18PM|#

ChrisO: even if the "other guy" is as bad or worse, at least the Republicans in Congress might get more serious about opposing big government if someone from their party wasn't in the White House...

|8.29.05 @ 7:46PM|#

matt - that line is also from the movie Young Guns...a fictional account of William H Bonnie, ie Billy the Kid.

You may already know that, and I'm not familiar with any hip-hop song that has that as a theme or a sample of that in the song...which song are you referring to?

|8.29.05 @ 8:30PM|#

"Regulate" by Warren G, featuring Nate Dogg.

Lyrics here - popups and such, I'm sure.

Amusing bit - Back in the 90s, when this song was playing on MTV at about the same time as "Delia" by The Man in Black, MTV muted out the phrase "bodies turn cold" in the former song, while broadcasting "Delia" uncut.

"Regulate" being about someone providing (rather lethal) assistance to someone else being mugged, "Delia" being about a man murdering his wife, and neither hitting MTV's profanity filters, I never quite got the justification for that.

|8.29.05 @ 8:55PM|#

Republicans are worse because Democrats never *pretend* to be for smaller government.

|8.29.05 @ 9:20PM|#

I never cease to be amazed that regulation costs any more than ink.
A governmental fart costs us billions. What's up with that?

I mean, why isn't it as simple as ink plus cops? And seeing as how we already have far too many of the latter, regulations should be more or less free for at least as long as Social Security is solvent.

Jesus, set my ignurnt ass staight!

|8.29.05 @ 9:56PM|#

Intersting tidbit Eric.

Lowdog:

Eric the .5b obviously took care of the song explanation.

I didn't actually know that phrase was from a movie like you pointed out. Never seen Young Guns....Is it any good?

|8.29.05 @ 9:57PM|#

Obviously the problem is that the Republicans lack unchecked power. There's still a sometimes-independent judiciary, and an annoying independent media. And some of the elections are still competitive.

The GOP has no choice but to support big government as long as their grip on power remains in doubt. But rest assured that if they get complete, 100% control over the levers of power, on that day they will fulfull all of the promises that they made about smaller government.

And if you can't trust them, whom can you trust?

|8.29.05 @ 10:20PM|#

Devil's advocate:

Growth has accelerated in the current decade, due mostly to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Agency. Regulatory agencies� budgets grew by more than 50 percent between 2000 and 2003. Expenditures are expected to decline over the next few years as large initial set-up costs are no longer necessary.

|8.29.05 @ 10:25PM|#

bekwon - Don't worry, I'm sure the Republicans will shoot themselves in the foot before too long. Remember how razor-thin the margin of victory has been in the last few elections. Democrats still hold a lot of power at the state level. Of course, then they just do charming things like set price caps on gasoline... (Hawaii, for those foreigners who don't know, is one of the most solidly Democratic states in the country.) Money quote from the article: "Hawaii is an unusual market situation, an isolated market with no competition," says state Sen. Ron Menor (D), sponsor of the legislation. "Legislators generally support the free market, but Hawaii is not the free market in the traditional sense where there is lots of competition out there. The gas market is dysfunctional." In other words, legislators support the free market unless it's, like, y'know, important or something. I wonder if Menor ever stopped to wonder why there is no competition.

|8.29.05 @ 10:53PM|#

Expenditures are expected to decline over the next few years as large initial set-up costs are no longer necessary.

Oh, no doubt. But what if they find something else to set up after the current setting-up is finished?

|8.30.05 @ 9:04AM|#

I love how the discussion on here revolves around Democrats & Republicans all the time. How about saying F YOU to both of them already and working to build an alternative. I'm tired of hearing arguments about who's worse.

Uncompetitive Elections and the American Political System
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3941

M1EK|8.30.05 @ 10:24AM|#

"Hawaii, for those foreigners who don't know, is one of the most solidly Democratic states in the country."

Except that it has a Republican governor, who didn't veto the gas cap legislation. Oops.

|8.30.05 @ 11:31AM|#

Don't worry, I'm sure the Republicans will shoot themselves in the foot before too long.

Bank on it. Chunks of their base are getting seriously demotivated as we type.

|8.30.05 @ 2:16PM|#

M1EK - True enough about the governor, and I didn't even realize that before and I'm pretty amazed - but it doesn't change the nature of Hawaii. Consider NYC: it has a Republican mayor, but nobody would argue that NYC is anything other than solidly blue.