Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates insist government regulations are holding the economy back and therefore must be reduced in number. But the latest government figures don’t bear this out.

 

During first half of this year, of more than 486,000 layoffs in the U.S. only 1,119 were attributed by the businesses themselves to government regulations, while 144,746 were attributed to poor “business demand,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another 18,063 were caused by attempts to cut costs or increase profit margins and 33.090 were blamed on bankruptcies and general financial difficulties. Although the figures are incomplete, at least 3,325 jobs were lost because companies relocated to other countries.

 

Bruce Bartlett, an economist who worked for congressional Republicans and Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, told the Associated Press that the idea of cutting regulations will lead to significant job growth is “just nonsense. It’s just made up.”

 

“Republicans favor tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, but these had no stimulative effect during the George W. Bush administration, and there is no reason to believe that more of them will have any today,” Bartlett added.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Extended Mass Layoffs -- Second Quarter 2011 (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Table 2. Reason for Layoff: Extended Mass Layoff Events, Separations, and Initial Claimants for Unemployment Insurance, Private Nonfarm Sector, Selected Quarters, 2010 and 2011 (Bureau of Labor Statistics)