Thread: 12 Ridiculous Regulations That Are Almost Too Bizarre To Bel

Suffocated By Red Tape - 12 Ridiculous Regulations That Are Almost Too Bizarre To Believe


Even with all of the massive economic problems that the United States is facing, if the government would just get off our backs most of us would do okay. In America today, it is rapidly getting to the point where it is nearly impossible to start or to operate a small business. The federal government, the state governments and local governments are cramming thousands upon thousands of new ridiculous regulations down our throats each year. It would take a full team of lawyers just to even try to stay informed about all of these new regulations. Small business in the United States is literally being suffocated by red tape. We like to think that we live in "the land of the free", but the truth is that our lives and our businesses are actually tightly constrained by millions of rules and regulations. Today there is a "license" for just about every business activity. In fact, in some areas of the country today you need a "degree" and multiple "licenses" before you can even submit an application for permission to start certain businesses. And if you want to actually hire some people for your business, the paperwork nightmare gets far worse. It is a wonder that anyone in America is still willing to start a business from scratch and hire employees. The truth is that the business environment in the United States is now so incredibly toxic that millions of Americans have simply given up and don't even try to work within the system anymore.

Today, the U.S. government has an "alphabet agency" for just about everything. The nanny state feels like it has to watch, track and tightly control virtually everything that we do. The Federal Register is the main source of regulations for U.S. government agencies. In 1936, the number of pages in the Federal Register was about 2,600. Today, the Federal Register is over 80,000 pages long. That is just one example of how bad things have gotten.

But it is not just the federal government that is ramming thousands of ridiculous regulations down our throats. The truth is that in many cases state and local governments are far worse. We have become a nation that is run and dominated by bureaucrats. Yes, there always must be rules in a society, but we have gotten to the point where there are so many millions of rules that the game has become unplayable.

The following are 12 examples of ridiculous regulations that are almost too bizarre to believe....



#1 The state of Louisiana says that monks must be fully licensed as funeral directors and actually convert their monasteries into licensed funeral homes before they will be allowed to sell their handmade wooden caskets.

#2 The city of Philadelphia now requires all bloggers to purchase a $300 business privilege license. The city even went after one poor woman who had earned only $11 from her blog over the past two years.

#3 In the state of Massachusetts, all children in daycare centers are mandated by state law to brush their teeth after lunch. In fact, the state even provides the fluoride toothpaste for the children.

#4 If you attempt to give a tour of our nation's capital without a license, you could be put in prison for 90 days.

#5 A reader named Gene recently shared his regulatory horror story with us....

Started a new business this year in AZ. Paid over $10,000 in fees for permitting, $10,000 in fee for elec hookup, $10,000 in fees for gas hook up and an extra $200 fee per month just for the “priviligeâ€

I totally agree with this article and know we would have more jobs & small businesses IF they were not being suffocated by rediculous regulations and the required money and staff to fill out all the forms.

I think Day Laborers make more money and have NO regulations or taxes to worry about.

"#10 Deeply hidden in the 2,409-page health reform bill passed by Congress was a new regulation that will require U.S. businesses to file millions more 1099s each year. In fact, it is estimated that the average small business will now have to file 200 additional 1099s every single year. Talk about a nightmare of red tape! But don't try to avoid this rule - it is being reported that the IRS has hired approximately 2,000 new auditors to audit as many of these 1099s as possible. "

Actually there is a Dem that is going to try to get this overturned

And yes , it would be a nightmare to anyone that sells on the internet also , such as a small ebay business.

I think that ALL of our government officals, from local to Federal, should governn part-time. They should have another job so that they quit finding ways to make our lives miserable. When they are thru with one regualtion they HAVE to find something else to make themselves revelant. They wouldn't have the time to think things up as, hopefully, their other job would take up some of their time. Also, it is our fault for allowing this crap to happen. When they pass a law we don't like we can tell them to shove it. They are not God and they really shouldn't have that much control over our lives.

AND yet....none of these rules and regulations ever seem to apply to non-citizens who can run their businesses any way they choose to.