[dcwusmc]

Your laundry list of government interference in the economy is one MAJOR reason for outsourcing. Government IS the problem, just not quite the way some here are alleging. Thus, Bush CAN do something to improve the economy: Get FedGov the hell out of the way. Stop regulating us to death. Abolish the alphabet regulatory agencies. Et cetera.

[ARCADIA]

Abolish the alphabet regulatory agencies. Et cetera.
(Note: I am not sure which list you are referring to so I will answer in general)

I think we are pretty much in agreement on that. We have a strange and unhealthy business environment today. But, why not; when people are seemingly free to pass whatever environmental and social regulation farts into the room without the slightest apparent consequence.

We decide to curtail logging to save the spotted owl and furniture prices go down as our factories move overseas. We pass additional emissions regulations and prices drop yet again. Our juries award huge settlements liberally without any notion of how that will impact them and our economy.

No matter how stupid we act we feel no pain. We are doing damage, but the feedback mechanism is no longer there. Our consumer products are coming from factories located beyond the reach of the goofy regulations. So we remain ignorant until the damage becomes extreme; until we have destroyed our domestic businesses.

If this were a contained economy, then people would immediately see prices rise, shortages, and product cancellations every time they added yet another stupid regulation. On the other hand they would see the benefit of reducing excess tasking. As a first step in improving our domestic business environment we will need to scale back our dependence on imported products.