A recent analysis suggests that the Biden administration's regulatory measures have placed a substantial financial burden on American households, estimated at approximately $10,000 per household. University of Chicago economics professor Casey Mulligan conducted the study, published by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, comparing President Biden's regulatory record with those of his predecessors, Donald Trump and Barack Obama.
Mulligan's findings indicate that the Biden administration's pace of imposing new regulatory costs surpasses that of the Obama administration during a similar timeframe. The study calculates that the Biden administration has added regulatory costs at a rate of $617 billion annually, excluding costs associated with statutes and other non-rule regulatory actions. Focusing on rules finalized in 2021 and 2022, Mulligan estimates the cumulative cost, present and future, to be around $9,600 per household.
The report projects a significant increase in these costs if President Biden is re-elected. Should the current trend continue at the same pace observed during the Obama era, the total cost over eight years could reach $7 trillion, equivalent to nearly $60,000 per household. While the report acknowledges that Biden's regulations per year are fewer than those of Obama and Trump in most categories, it highlights the substantial cost of certain policies, such as student loan initiatives and vaccine mandates.
A significant portion of the regulatory costs, about one-third, is attributed to automobile fuel economy and emissions standards. Health, labor, telecommunications, and consumer finance regulations also contribute substantially to the overall cost. In contrast to Biden's approach, the Trump administration focused on deregulation, reducing regulatory costs by nearly $11,000 per household over four years, excluding the costs associated with Operation Warp Speed. Trump's annual net reduction in regulatory costs exceeded $300 billion, approaching the annual rate of increase under Obama and Biden (around $600 billion).
Although Biden has implemented some deregulatory measures, the net impact of Trump's deregulation was significantly greater. The report emphasizes Trump's success in demonstrating the possibility of reducing regulatory burdens, suggesting that eight years of his policies could have saved households over $21,000, compared to the projected cost under Biden's trajectory. Mulligan claims his report is the first to comprehensively quantify the costs often omitted from agency assessments, pointing out that agencies frequently underestimate or overlook substantial opportunity and resource costs.
This report emerges as President Biden promotes his economic policies, often referred to as "Bidenomics," highlighting positive growth and low unemployment. However, public opinion polls reveal significant skepticism about Biden's economic leadership, with a majority expressing concerns about the state of the economy and a small percentage believing his policies are beneficial to them personally. This contrast between the administration's narrative and public perception adds another layer to the debate surrounding the impact of regulatory policies on the American economy.
