“Federal red ink now costs businesses more than $2.1 trillion per year, report says,” an article in The Washington Times tells us.
The cost of federal regulations has grown to more than $2.1 trillion per year, almost as much as the government’s annual haul from income taxes, according to a report released Thursday.
The report, released by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and titled “Ten Thousand Commandments,” outlined how the annual cost of red ink has steadily risen due to decisions made by presidents and Congress that impose new requirements and paperwork on businesses.
Mallory Wilson, “Federal red ink now costs businesses more than $2.1 trillion per year, report says,” The Washington Times (April 24, 2025).
“American households were found to pay on average more than $16,000 annually in these hidden regulatory taxes, which eat up 16% of income and 21% of household expenses,” Mallory Wilson reports. “That total exceeds household spending on health care, food, transportation, entertainment, apparel, services and savings, and is higher only than the cost of housing.”
The report is by Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr., and is the 2025 update of CEI’s ongoing coverage of the federal regulatory burden.
One of the most interesting sections of the report is near the very end:
Article I of the Constitution notwithstanding, administrative agencies, not Congress, do most of America’s lawmaking. Congress enacts weighty legislation but delegates the details to agencies. Agencies welcome this delegation and can use it to add to their powers in ways that often go beyond congressional intent.
This imbalance gives rise to the Unconstitutionality Index. The index is the ratio of rules issued by agencies to laws Congress passes.
The index is the featured image (see above) for this Update. Not a lot has changed in Washington — according to this measure, anyway — with the biggest increase in the number of regulations occurring in the first year of President Joe Biden’s term in office.