When Regulations Crush Entrepreneurs
"If we have so much regulation that it makes it not worthwhile, then we’re not going to be able to stay in business.”
“With its power to prohibit or compel, to take or give money, the state can and does selectively help or hurt a vast number of industries.” – American Economist, George J. Stigler
Last week the Frontier Institute released a column as part of our ongoing series highlighting the real stories of Montanans struggling under the burden of onerous government regulations.
Mike Wilson is the CEO of Whitewood Transport, a heavy-haul trucking company based out of Billings. Lisa Rush is a semi truck owner-operator who works transporting heavy equipment.
Unlike other industries that primarily operate in a single state, trucking by its very nature often crosses state lines. The multitude of these regulations can create a bureaucratic nightmare for truckers and their business partners.
“Anytime there’s a regulation it’s going to create a cost and it has to be either absorbed or passed on. We don’t have the margins in trucking to be able to absorb much. We don’t work for exercise, we work for profit. If we have so much regulation that it makes it not worthwhile, then we’re not going to be able to stay in business.”
As we noted in our 2022 Red Tape Snapshot, the accumulation of thousands of regulations has been shown to stifle economic growth and substantially increase the cost of doing business. Luckily Governor Gianforte has committed to reducing excessive, outdated and unnecessary regulations, which will help make Montana a home to entrepreneurs and innovators.
Their story highlights yet another example of how regulation can accumulate into mountains of red-tape, hurting entrepreneurs and the innovations they create. You can read the full interview here.
For Liberty
Tanner Avery
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