Much has been made of the high cost of "regulation" in business. Not owning my own business, I only have a marginal understanding of what this entails. I've read any number of statistics declaring the labyrinth of regulation costing millions to billions and further depressing an economy.

This morning on WMAL I suppose I got an idea of what people were talking about - one was a story about a stadium that could not be opened because the men's bathroom mirrors were installed a half inch too high. (One caller said that it arose from the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it was a common problem because the minimum height required is confused with the actual mirror part of the mirror and not including the tiny rim around it).

I guess what I want to know is - who is the eventual beneficiary of all the regulation? Does most of the money end up in local governments? In the purchase of useless material because of some safety requirement that is never prevailed upon? Where does the money "go"?

Much has been made of the high cost of "regulation" in business. Not owning my own business, I only have a marginal understanding of what this entails. I've read any number of statistics declaring the labyrinth of regulation costing millions to billions and further depressing an economy.

I guess what I want to know is - who is the eventual beneficiary of all the regulation? Does most of the money end up in local governments? In the purchase of useless material because of some safety requirement that is never prevailed upon? Where does the money "go"?

I have been in the process of starting a new business for over one year.
No permits have been issued.(Five will be needed just to start.) others will be needed after the initial ones. All applications are sitting on the desks of Maryland bureaucrats. Every once in a while, I get a phone call from one asking a question that is not on the applications or get a modified application to re-apply.

All corporate filings are done. We have company ready to start.
Six initial employees will be hired and thosands of dollars in capital equipment will need to be purchased upon receiving permits.

But to answer your question, most of the money goes into a black hole, the restore to the suppliers that help small businesses conform.

The main issue on the money side, regulations cost money that could be better used as startup costs, helping most startups a better chance of survival.

The ADA is particularly expensive in that virtually zero exceptions are ever made, no matter how common sense they might be. So, for example, entrance access requirements must be met and handicapped toilet facilities built, even if your biz insurance and/or OSHA rules require that you must exclude the public from the facility in question in the first place and you post that accordingly. So the end result is you've bought/built expensive building modifications that will never be used.