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Many (perhaps most) of these regulations don't exist by statute and could be unraveled quite easily. The problem was putting a bunch of people into makework jobs where they filed all of the appropriate paperwork in the rulemaking process that created a bunch of pointless rules for the industry to follow. Replacing the showerhead flow regulation enthusiasts with people that undo that swiftly would, of course, be fought by environmental groups during the rulesmaking process, but there are usually not statutory requirements that this sort of thing continues.
I would be interesting in a breakdown between what percentage of regulations are a situation where nothing happens prior to government approval, and where no new is good news from the government.
My dad is a nuclear engineer, I heard a ton of complaining about the NRC stood in the way of progress growing up. I wholeheartedly accept that story, that said, lawyers and financier aren't letting you proceed without government sign off.
My sense for it is that new drugs work the same way.
And on a smaller scale, getting the permits that you need to build any new building works the same way.
If you cut the people you need to give you the all-clear in half, you haven't improved the situation.
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Showerhead flow is, unfortunately, statutory.
Well, shit.
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