More Regulation Is the Last Thing Economy Needs: Ramesh Ponnuru

Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- At least one sector of the economyis booming, and President Barack Obama can legitimately takecredit for it. Since he took office, employment has surged 13percent at federal regulatory agencies. The regulators’ budgetsare up 16 percent. (These numbers are derived from a May report published by Washington University and George WashingtonUniversity.) And that’s before some of the major regulatoryinitiatives of the administration -- the financial-reform billand the health-care overhaul -- are fully implemented.

Obama understands that a reputation for regulatoryhyperactivity in the midst of a weak economy wouldn’t help hisre-election prospects. In January, he promised “a government-wide review of the rules already on the books to remove outdatedregulations that stifle job creation and make our economy lesscompetitive.” That review led to some modest improvements: TheEnvironmental Protection Agency pulled back a rule that wouldhave treated dairy spills on farms as though they were oilspills.