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Trivia Tidbit of the Day: Part 695 -- Regulation.

Lack Of Regulation Not To Blame-

One media theme that popped up last year during the financial mess was that deregulation had let wild west bandits run wild, and it was the lack of regulatory oversight that caused the need for bailouts and new regulatory schemes. In reality, regulatory budgets for the federal government have increased substantially over the years:

While spending has generally increased over time, the rate of growth has varied depending on the priorities of elected officials in the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. For example, regulatory expenditures declined in the early years of the Reagan administration, and again in 1996 during the Clinton administration, reflecting a desire to move toward deregulation and to downsize government spending and intervention in the economy and in Americans’ lives.

....

Between 2000 and 2010, real-term budgets devoted to regulatory agencies increased significantly. The FY 2010 budget calls for expenditures that are 76.1 percent higher than in 2000—an increase in real spending on regulatory activities of $19.4 billion between 2000 and 2010. The budgets of agencies administering social regulations grew by 82.8 percent, and those involved in economic regulation grew by 44.2 percent in real terms over that period.

On average, the Regulators’ Budget has grown a little more than 6.2 percent per year since 2000. Double-digit increases in fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2009 (16.4, 24.3, and 13 percent respectively) drive the large average and reflect the response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the response to the current economic crisis.

The financial meltdown of 2008 didn't happen for lack of regulatory bureaucracy. More bureaucracy likely won't be the answer.

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Posted by Will Franklin · 11 November 2009 10:26 AM

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