federal government

“Basic needs” need to be regulated, say Dems

by Fran Smith on April 22, 2010

in Healthcare, Insurance, Nanny State, Odds & Ends, Personal Liberty, Regulation

Reason’s Ron Bailey, in an “I told you so” article today, points out that Senate Democrats are poised to support a bill that would give the federal government the power to regulate insurance rates.  He was referring to a NYT article – buried on page A12 — that said that Senator Tom Harkin, the chairman of the Senate health committee, was going to push for a bill, possibly one introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein, that would give the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to block rate increases “found to be unreasonable.”

Here’s what the California senator had to say about her bill:

Mrs. Feinstein said her bill would close what she described as “an enormous loophole” in the new law. And she said health insurance should be regulated like a public utility.

“Water and power are essential for life,” Mrs. Feinstein said. “So they are heavily regulated, and rate increases must be approved. Health insurance is also vital for life. It too should be strictly regulated so that people can afford this basic need.”

Looks like the Dems are really pushing their agenda to expand the list of “basic needs” that the federal government has to regulate – read that as take over. Better check out Maslow for what comes next.

Federal Register Reaches 10,000 Pages

by Ryan Young on March 4, 2010

in Deregulate to Stimulate, Politics as Usual, Regulation

The 2010 Federal Register passed the 10,000 page mark this morning. It hit the milestone with a State Department request for grant proposals for a “One-time Competitive Grants Program – Competition A – Academic Programs.” $8,000,000 of grants are available if you’re interested.

I noted earlier that it only took 4 working days to top 1,000 pages. Now, after 42 working days, the grand total is 10,158. That’s an average of 242 new pages of rules and notices every working day.

Assuming 250 working days this year, the 2010 Federal Register is on pace to reach 60,464 pages. This would be substantially lower than last year’s figure of 68,598. Part of the slowdown is likely due to the four-day federal shutdown from last month’s snow storms. Another factor is a relative lack of major legislation (so far), as often happens in election years.

Federal Government Shuts Down Due to Snow

by Ryan Young on February 8, 2010

in Deregulate to Stimulate, Economy, Nanny State, Personal Liberty, Politics as Usual, Regulation, Stimulus to Nowhere, Zeitgeist

Few people outside of the DC area are likely to notice, but the recent snowstorm shut down the federal government today. Another big snow is on the way, so the feds are also taking tomorrow off.

The Washington Post reports:

Official estimate [sic] that closing the federal government for a day due to the weather costs roughly $100 million in lost productivity and opportunity costs, meaning this weekend’s storm will have potentially cost taxpayers at least $250 million, for last Friday’s early dismissal and Monday’s and Tuesday’s closures.

That is dwarfed, of course, by the opportunity costs of having a $3.8 trillion federal government in the first place. Not to mention the productivity losses.The federal government spends $49.1 billion enforcing regulations that cost nearly $1.2 trillion. if even half of that were freed up, imagine the good that would come of it.

The billions and billions of dollars spent on earmarks and stimulus would do far more good if that money stayed in the productive sector, subject to the self-correcting mechanisms of profit and loss.

In short: America benefits when Washington busybodies take a few days off. So enjoy it while it lasts.

There is great wisdom in Mark Twain’s famous adage: “No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the congress is in session.”

Regulation of the Day 98: Gastrointestinal Drugs

by Ryan Young on January 8, 2010

in Deregulate to Stimulate, Health and Illness, Healthcare, Personal Liberty, Precaution & Risk, Regulation, Regulation of the Day

Did you know that the federal government has a Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee? It’s true. If you don’t believe me, you can attend their upcoming meeting on February 23. The topic of the day will be a new drug application to treat hepatic encephalopathy.

Hopefully some hepatic encephalopathy sufferers will be there. They can ask the Committee why the FDA takes as long as a decade (and as much as $800 million!) to approve medications that could be helping people and saving lives right now.

Regulation of the Day 90: The National Poultry Improvement Plan

by Ryan Young on December 29, 2009 · 1 comment

in Deregulate to Stimulate, Regulation, Regulation of the Day

Having solved all the nation’s other problems, the federal government has a National Poultry Improvement Plan. Run in conjunction with state governments, “The main objective of this program is to use new diagnostic technology to effectively improve poultry and poultry products throughout the United States.”

Because the government puts so much time and attention into issues like chicken health, it is neglecting its core duty: protecting citizens from attack. Last week’s terrorist attack should be a wake-up call for the government to drop non-essential tasks and concentrate on what it should be doing.