By Kevin Drum. Originally published in Mother Jones, September 20, 2011.
So how about that crushing regulatory burden that our business-hating president has imposed on the American economy? Well, not so much, actually:
During Obama’s first two years in office, 555 new “significant” regulations, or ones that have a cost or benefit of at least $100 million in a year, have been enacted, according to the Office of Management and Budget. Over the eight years that former president George W. Bush was in office about 2,380 regulations were enacted, an average of 595 every two years.
Granted, these are just raw numbers, and some regulations are more onerous than others. But it sure doesn't sound like Team Obama has been a whirlwind of regulatory activity, does it?
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