Communications

“In a burst of rule-making, federal agencies have toughened or proposed new standards to protect Americans from tainted eggs, safeguard construction workers from crane accidents, prevent injuries from baby walkers and even protect polar bears from extinction.”

That was the lede from a New York Times look into the growth of red tape under President Obama.  These increases are not unique decisions occurring in a vacuum.  The expansion of the federal regulatory system into the lives of average Americans and small business owners are the product of a worldview that says “We are the federal government and we know better than you do.”

If you needed any further evidence of this prevailing attitude from President Obama and the unelected political appointees he has placed throughout the cavernous federal bureaucracy, look no further than this following headline, “EPA Contest Seeks Videos Promoting Government Regulations.” That’s right, the EPA is trying to enlist ordinary Americans to participate in a propaganda campaign for big government bureaucracy.

So why are we supposed to be excited about promoting regulations? The EPA has a helpful fact-sheet about how great it is that unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats control so much of our lives. Here are some of our personal favorites:

-          “Almost every aspect of our lives is touched by federal regulations. Even before you leave the house in the morning, government regulations help set the price of the coffee you drink, the voltage of electricity your alarm clock uses, and the types of programming allowed on the morning news.” (Woo-Hoo! That’s THREE times and I haven’t even left the HOUSE!)

-          Regulations have the power of law.  Breaking them can result in fines and even jail time. (Are you having FUN yet?)

-          For every statute passed by Congress and signed into law by the President, federal agencies create about 10 regulations, each of which have the force of law.  (Um, yay?)

Needless to say, this YouTube video contest piqued our interest: Who are these people who love federal regulation?  In an effort to answer this questions we set out with a camera to ask Americans how they really felt about federal regulation and big government and compiled their responses into the video below which we intend to send to the EPA as our own submission.

Based on the responses we received, we won’t be holding our breaths for the IRS-sponsored “I [Heart] Tax Day” video contest.