Dear Editor,
I am a small business person and, like most other small business owners, my anxiety soars at the thought of dealing with government regulations. I understand the need for some regulation; just as I understand the need for stop signs.
Regulations to protect the public health and safety against the small number of people who would cheat or cut corners are necessary. But, the way federal and state bureaucrats tend to deal with troublemakers is to throw everyone into the deep end of the regulation pool and then leave the rest of us to swim through the red tape, rules and requirements and added liability caused by their arbitrary and many times unnecessary rules.  I don’t believe rule-makers are malicious, but I do believe they get into a Statehouse or Beltway state of mind and after too much time in office lose touch with reality especially as it relates to small business operations.
Just about every line of business has a state and/or federal trade association. The members are all competitors in the marketplace, but still work together for the good of the industry and the markets they serve. There should be a process that requires the issuing agency to identify the type of business likely to be affected; then demonstrate there is a real need for a rule that affects all businesses within that business group.  Once that need is determined, then there should be meetings with the appropriate associations to explain why it is necessary and to hear how the problem might be better resolved through open discussions.
Stop signs at intersections are usually good and necessary. Regulations requiring a stop sign at every driveway on a block would be an unnecessary disruption; just as unneeded regulations are.
Those are the kinds of regulations small business owners face every day.
Grady Payne
Conner Industries CEO
NFIB/Texas member of the Sensible Regulations Coalition
