75-18-5
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Federal Registry I[edit]
Transcript[edit]The French Philosopher De Tocqueville — a century ago spoke of government, covering the face of society with a network of small complicated rules until the Nation is reduced to a flock of timid & industrious animals of which government, is the shepherd.” — I’ll be right back. We are indebted to Congressman Edward Hutchinson of Michigan for compiling some facts & figures that reveal just how close we are to living in a country where everything that isn’t compulsory is prohibited. Not many people in this quote — “land of the free” unquote are aware of a Washington publication called the “Federal Register.” This is a daily publication of the U.S. government containing the complete record of the latest rules & regulations put forth by Federal agencies. It also publishes legal notices issued by the agencies, executive orders and notices of the meetings of Uncle Sam's several thousand advisory commissions. All of this means a daily volume of 300,000 to 400,000 words each day. During the ’60s you could skim through a one years printing of the Register — just one year mind you — by reading 15,000 pages. Last year it was up to 46,000 pages and this year it will be about 50,000. Since the bulk of those pages are filled with new regulations covering every facet of our lives you can see that we are not exactly footloose free spirits. This years 50,000 pages will contain more than 25,000 separate regulations added on top of all the tens and tens of thousands passed in the preceding years. Congressman Hutchison also tells us that if we can’t bear the suspense each day of waiting for tomorrows 400,000 words, there is a dial-a-regulation service that will provide you with a sneak preview of tomorrow's regulations. Just for example there is the Consumer Product, Safety Commission which is only 2 yrs. old but is grinding out regulations with the best of them. They cover everything from tricycles to baseball bats — from gun ammunition to tobacco. Other agencies are spawning rules on a daily basis covering salad dressing standards, advertising testimonials & prune shipping requirements. Important decisions on how best to do business, how to grow crops, how to shop at the supermarket, how to travel, how to educate your children, in short, the Rep. Hutchison says, “decisions of how to live are being usurped by a government, which sees no limits to its powers.” Not only does govt, threaten our freedoms it is not equipped to take into account or give consideration to all the unique factors involved in the dealings between 50 sovereign states, 30,000 localities & more than 200 mil. individuals. The Congressman sums it up thusly; “As each of Washington's hard and fast regulations proves unresponsive to a new situation, new regulations, exceptions and re-definitions are enacted in a never ending struggle to keep pace with the real world. This is why the Federal Register is getting bigger and will continue to get bigger until the role of govt, in our society is redefined.” Amen! This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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