Earlier this week the Federal Trade Commission yet again proved their uselessness, this time by issuing guidelines requiring bloggers to disclose any payments they receive from the subjects of their reviews or face a $11,000 fine. Because who knows what death and destruction would occur if Timmy failed to let his readers know that Activision gave him a new controller before he wrote a review about how awesome Guitar Hero 5 is.
Now House Democrats in Congress want to pass a bill forcing the Federal Communications Commission to regulate the volume of television commercials.
Is this really something the federal government needs to be doing? Are we paying taxes so that federal bureaucrats can act as our communal mute button?
Americans don’t need nanny state regulations from the FTC and FCC. We need a return to limited government principles and a rejection of the Obama Czar State.
Proving once again that despite the results of the 2008 presidential election, Americans still believe in limited government principles, Gallup released a survey today showing that 57% of Americans say the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to businesses and individuals. Gallup notes:
The 57% level of public concern about big government in this survey is, among other things, coincident with an extensively increased government involvement in the economy, and the extensive focus on a large-scale government effort to reform health care that was underway as this survey was being conducted.
Gallup also found that 45% of Americans say there is too much government regulation of business compared to just 24% of Americans who say there is too little. Gallup adds:
As seen in the accompanying graph, the 45% “too much” reading is the highest of the decade and is higher than the one Gallup reading prior to this decade, in March 1993. However, a March 1981 Los Angeles Times poll using this question wording recorded a 54% “too much” level. This was just after Ronald Reagan took office, and may have reflected Reagan’s emphasis during the 1980 presidential campaign on the need to reduce government involvement in American society.
And these numbers are before the Obama adminstration and Congress force every American to buy health insurance, a mandate that President Obama HHS nominee Dr. Sherry Glied said “may require a degree of intrusiveness and bureaucracy that some will find unpalatable.” Indeed, the Baucus plan would:
require individuals, health insurers, employers, and government health agencies to report detailed health insurance information on all Americans to the IRS, adding significant administrative costs and reducing privacy protections. The IRS would also be required to report personal income data to state exchanges, insurance companies, and employers, because premium credits and out-of-pocket limits would depend on income.