AP fact check shows that GOP claims of government "stifling" businesses are untrue
Government regulations -- specifically those formed under President Obama -- are costing Americans jobs, according to Republicans.It's a repeated meme that never goes away: regulations aren't good for business, stifling growth, which in turn forces business to hold back on hiring new workers or even laying off the ones they currently have. It's a sad state of affairs, a reality we must bear to live with.
If it were true.
In fact-checking the GOP presidential debate that was held last night, the Associated Press did some real digging -- and discovered that government regulation isn't all-too responsible for much job loss at all.
In fact, businesses reported that layoffs the result of government regulation accounted for only two-tenths of one percentage point (0.2 percent) across the country. That means for every layoff based on government regulation there are 499 other layoffs that are based on some other criteria.
Government regulation wasn't even the top concern for businesses: consumer confidence was. The top complaint among businesses was that there wasn't enough customers, and thus not enough cash-flow, to warrant more hiring.
The belief that regulation somehow stifles business is baffling. Certain kinds of regulations can do this -- but with proper implementation, regulation doesn't need to hurt the businesses of American entrepreneurs, and thus doesn't need to hurt economic or job growth.
This is clearly the case within the Obama administration, as, once again, less than 1 in every 500 layoffs were due to government regulation. And that's also today's Daily Stat.
0.2 percent of jobs lost are the result of excessive "government regulation."