JH Well, a very serious argument can be made that the
JH environmental regulations of the last 30 years have seriously
JH harmed our economy.

In your original post you said the US economy is on track to double in
18 years, now you're saying the economy has been seriously harmed.
Which way is it?

Both, of course. Our economy has grown strongly and well -- but away from
manufacturing.

Why are we no longer able to compete in the manufacturing arena? High cost
of production -- far higher than our competitors.

What goes into the high cost of production? Labor costs, of course, and
infrastructure costs. We won't belabor the labor costs (ooo, sorry), but
our infrastructure costs are SO far out of line with our competitors (and
common sense) that I'm amazed ANYTHING is made in this country anymore.
EVERYTHING is regulated -- everything.

And this stupid over-regulation has invaded every facet of business, going
far beyond environmental laws or the manufacturing realm. Here are just a
few examples I must deal with locally:

- If I remodel the hotel TOO extensively, I will have to comply with the
Federal ADA laws -- something we are grandfathered under, because the hotel
is 26 years old. This would mean going out of business.
- If I paint stripes in my four parking lots, I must put "x" number of
handicapped parking spots right up near the doors, rather than allowing my
arriving guests the convenient spots for loading/unloading. Therefore, I
don't paint stripes in my lots.
- If I were to add a new parking lot, I would have to comply with new laws
that stipulate that I plant "x" number for trees for every paved parking
spot. So I get by with my current parking lots.
- If I were to change the signage out front of the hotel too dramatically
(say, by adding an airplane to the sign?), it would come under more recent
regulations that prohibit a 3-story sign in front of a business. So, I
make-do with my 20-year-old sign.
- City ordinance prohibited us from putting a "Grand Opening" sign out front
of the hotel when we bought the place 3 years ago. That's right -- the
local bureaucrats have wound their tendrils so tightly around the throats of
businesspeople that even something as innocent as a "Grand Opening" sign is
forbidden by law.

Now, can you imagine what it would take to build an oil refinery??? We
can't even change our sign without ****ing off some scuzz-ball bureaucrat!

Our country is screwed up far worse than the average guy on the street can
imagine.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"