'Hidden taxes' already biting

Unfortunately, there are less visible microeconomic government actions that are likely to counteract these policies, hindering our economic recovery and preventing us from realizing that goal. Many of these are included in the administration's Spring 2009 regulatory agenda, with hundreds of planned regulations spread across many agencies.

Unlike spending and associated taxes, which are subject to approval by both the legislative and executive branches and are visible to the public, regulatory decisions don't face the same checks and balances and their effects are far less transparent. They represent a hidden tax, not easy to measure and track, but borne by American taxpayers, consumers, and workers nevertheless. And often, regulations benefit vocal, well-organized interest groups at the expense of the broader public.

Take, for example, the administration's recent actions to impose Davis-Bacon wage requirements on a wide range of stimulus projects, which will ensure higher-than-market wage rates for a few, and increase costs for all taxpayers. Or, the delay of the Interior Department's five-year plan for off-shore oil leases, and cancellation of 70 other oil leases on the mainland. The termination of a cross-border trucking arrangement with Mexico may please certain interest groups, but has already led to trade sanctions and will harm imports and exports that benefit American consumers.