What's the Cost of Regulation? How does 1 Trillion a Year Sound?

SEE HERE It used to be that a million here and a million there and pretty soon you were talking about real money. I remember that quote from back in the 1970s ... Then it got to be a billion here and a billion there and pretty soon we're talking about real money. Now a billion is a thousand million and even in your wildest dreams there has not been that much inflation since the 70's. But the government is addicted to spending and regulation. The spending usually gets all the press, but regulation is a hidden tax on all of us. It sounds good when they put it in place but it rarely goes to anywhere very good. Currently it represents a cost of 8.3% of the GDP. But it's really worse then that if you're talking about the cost of government. It represents something like two thirds of the government income as an additional cost, a hidden cost of government. Government is rapidly reaching the point of controlling 70% of the economy. Welcome to waste and abuse as only the government can manage.