VIEWPOINT | Regulations’ enormous costs and DOGE’s enormous upside

Column by Veronique de Rugy

The Department of Government Efficiency has made a promise: It will go after regulations that slow growth, obstruct innovators and cost American households thousands of dollars each year. Here’s hoping for success.

The burden of excessive regulation is hard to measure. We know, for instance, that the Code of Federal Regulations is over 188,000 pages long, guaranteeing that citizens can never really be sure they comply with every regulation.

While the stated intent of many rules is to protect the public interest – be it the environment, safety or market fairness – the unintended consequences are often staggering. Regulations frequently impose costs far beyond their benefits, stifling entrepreneurship and innovation while hampering businesses’ ability to produce at full potential, hire workers or provide consumers with what we need.

SCOUTING REPORT | Heading to court, married households, missing projections, Spanish mass in Pierre