Regulations Are Not Job Killer Says Report

My October 2011 Quick Consultant column challenged the notion that government regulations are the cause of many of our problems.

Now, a new CNNMoney report affirms that statement. The article disputes the claim made by many Republicans, especially those in the Tea Party, that government regulations are not the major reasons for the problems being faced by small business.

The claim that the Obama administration and a wave of new government regulations are strangling the economy are not true, according to the report. Citing both private and government sources, the article notes that "Only a small percentage of employers report regulation as a reason for laying off workers."

Of the 55,000+ new unemployment claims filed in the first eight months of this year, only 2,085 were attributed to government regulations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Even the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) noted that less than 20% of small business owners cite government regulations as their most important problem.

"Poor sales, for example, were a much bigger worry," notes the CNN article.

"And a CNNMoney survey ofr economists conducted in the second quarter delivered similar results. Only a couple of the 16 economists questioned said government regulation was the biggest drag on the labor market."

According to the article, Economist Gary Burless, a labor economist at the Brookings Institution, said "there is little evidence to suggest that government regulations are killing jobs."