Cost of Regulation Reaches $1.75 Trillion

'Government is not the answer, government is the problem' - a very appropriate quote considering the cost that our government, at all levels, has 'forcibly' levied upon the people...and without much success I might add!


Red Tape Rises Again: Cost of Regulation Reaches $1.75 Trillion

While the revenues and expenditures of the government are budgeted and accounted for each year, the costs of regulation are largely hidden from view, paid for indirectly via higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation. The best estimates of the total cost, however, have come from a series of reports commissioned by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The latest such report was released recently by the SBA's Office of Advocacy and the results are startling, says James Gattuso, a senior research fellow in regulatory policy at the Heritage Foundation.

Rules and restrictions imposed from Washington now cost Americans some $1.75 trillion each year. That is sharply higher than the $1.1 trillion in costs reported in 2005 in the SBA's last study. Some of this increase comes from identification of regulatory costs that were not included in earlier reports, yet much represents new regulatory burdens -- including a $445 billion increase in the cost of economic regulation. No matter how you slice it, $1.75 trillion is a lot of money, says Gattuso.

It is far more than Americans pay in income taxes each year. It is about the same as the gross domestic product of Italy. Per household, the regulatory tab works out to some $15,000 -- almost as much as the average family spends on housing.

Source: James Gattuso, "Red Tape Rises Again: Cost of Regulation Reaches $1.75 Trillion," Heritage Foundation, September 22, 2010.

For text:

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/22/red-tape-rises-again-cost-of-regulation-reaches-1-75-trillion/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email

U.S. May Lose a Third of Its Banks

Another industry 'leader' giving his prognostication of fewer banks in our country as we move forward.
And here is a 'meaty' quote to chew upon as you 'carve' up this article:
“It will require people with greater experience levels and with tougher attitude toward the industry to carve out a future in this business.”


BankUnited's CEO Kanas Says U.S. May Lose a Third of Its Banks

By Dawn Kopecki and Zachary R. Mider - Sep 30, 2010

The U.S. may lose about a third of its banks as the weakening economy weeds out the least healthy institutions, said John Kanas, chief executive officer of BankUnited.

“Most of us in the business think we probably need 5,000 and think we are on our way to 5,000 as this cycle, if this is a cycle, unfolds,” Kanas, 63, said today at the Bloomberg Dealmakers Summit in New York. “We simply chartered too many banks.”

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said it insured deposits at 7,830 financial institutions as of June 30. Kanas became CEO of Miami Lakes, Florida-based BankUnited last year by joining a group of private equity investors who agreed to inject about $900 million into the collapsed Florida lender. The other investors include Carlyle Group, Centerbridge Capital Partners, WL Ross & Co., and Blackstone Group LP.

“It’s not as easy as it once was when the market was going straight up and real estate values were on a straight incline,” Kanas said. “It will require people with greater experience levels and with tougher attitude toward the industry to carve out a future in this business.”