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I have been trying to start my own business for years now. The hoops you have to jump through in every industry I have looked at are not insignificant. It makes

I have been trying to start my own business for years now. The hoops you have to jump through in every industry I have looked at are not insignificant. It makes a huge barrier to entry which makes the risk vs. reward ratio a little more skewed towards risk than I can handle. We really need to do something about unnecessary overregulation. We can protect our environment without needing a team of lawyers to open a lemonade stand (hyperbole).

grasshopperpurp 9y ago
I think we have to be really specific about regulation, and, because of scope, it's hard to do that. The system we currently have is not quite, but similar to, the worst of both worlds. We have regulators who let major corporations get away with murder - because the regulators are either beholden to corporations or beholden to politicians who are beholden to corporations; at the same time, they make life unnecessarily difficult for small businesses, which helps the larger corporations by eliminating much of the competition for them. I don't agree with everything William Sanjour says on this, but he makes a lot of good points, and it's very possible that my points of disagreement stem from me not knowing/understanding as much as Sanjour, which I clearly don't. In this piece, he even gives you the TL;DR. To summarize, this is what I believe needs to be done : 1) Agencies which enforce regulations should not write the regulations. 2) The revolving door should be shut. 3) Whistle blowers should be protected, encouraged and rewarded. 4) To the greatest extent feasible, those who the regulations are intended to protect should participate in writing and enforcing the regulations. https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/designed-to-fail-why-regulatory-agencies-dont-work/ https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/designed-to-fa...
deelowe 9y ago
Unfortunately, in an attempt to do something about this, the people got conned.
- komali2 9y ago
  Respectfully, I find this a vague response to a vague post. I don't know what you mean by "this" in "something about this" because I don't understand what sort of regulations the OP is talking about, and I don't know what you mean by "the people got conned."
  - deelowe 9y ago
    I think with this election cycle people have taken a scorched earth approach with regards to limiting government involvement in their daily lives and/or addressing the loss of small businesses. I'm not sure throwing the baby out with the bathwater is the right approach.
Analemma_ 9y ago
Blaming the lack of business dynamism on environmental regulation is both wrong and dangerous. Tt encourages people not to take you and the problem seriously, because they (quite reasonably) write you off as just another crony capitalist upset that he can't poison the world without consequence.
- ygfvvhygvn 9y ago
  That wasn't my intention but I see your point. It's not even the majority of the laws, and was just meant to be part of the joke at the end. However I specifically said we should protect the environment so anyone who feels that way probably doesn't have great reading comprehension
chaostheory 9y ago
What hoops have you had to jump through?
learc83 9y ago
What are some specific examples of regulations that made it too burdensome for you? In my experience, losing employer provided healthcare has been the number one thing preventing people from starting a small business.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- ygfvvhygvn 9y ago
  I'm young and healthy so that wasn't an issue for me. I have looked at everything from starting shooting ranges to specialty chemical companies. Most regulations are local. Just look at your local zoning and building codes. It's probably 500+ pages. The other main ones are dealing with taxes. "Straightforward" ventures like algotrading suddenly become not worth it when you realize you will spend more time writing code to ensure that all of your transactions are meticulously recorded than you will actually analyzing data and writing trading algorithms. Not to mention you probably need a team of accountants for the million+ trades that can happen in a year. Without a specific industry I can't really explain the regulations as each has their own. I'll try to come back later and explain more but I'm pretty busy today
  - noonespecial 9y ago
    Not to nitpick or anything but guns and chemicals might not be the very best choices of industry for those looking to first dip their feet into the startup pool...
  - evgen 9y ago
    Regulations regarding shooting ranges, chemical companies, and algotrading seem burdensome to you... Somehow I think you are exactly the person that we create laws to protect ourselves against.
    - ygfvvhygvn 9y ago
      I'm not sure about the implications you're making about me but it seems a little unfair to judge me based on a few sentences. I was merely trying to show the breadth of industries I have experienced. I can assure you that the vast majority of my business ventures would be approved by even the most effeminate nu-male liberal
xemdetia 9y ago
Can you better describe what kind of hoops you are talking about in your case, or at least what industry? Other than ordinary incorporation (easy) and a few industry specific licensing requirements I have never felt that to be my limiters in starting a business or the risks that put me off it in most things I looked into.
guelo 9y ago
I've started several corporations over the years and the regulations aren't that bad. I have a partner that will get an S-corp going for a few hundred bucks. In any case, the article shows that dynamism was higher in the 70s when there was more regulation.

grasshopperpurp 9y ago

I think we have to be really specific about regulation, and, because of scope, it's hard to do that. The system we currently have is not quite, but similar to, the worst of both worlds. We have regulators who let major corporations get away with murder - because the regulators are either beholden to corporations or beholden to politicians who are beholden to corporations; at the same time, they make life unnecessarily difficult for small businesses, which helps the larger corporations by eliminating much of the competition for them. I don't agree with everything William Sanjour says on this, but he makes a lot of good points, and it's very possible that my points of disagreement stem from me not knowing/understanding as much as Sanjour, which I clearly don't. In this piece, he even gives you the TL;DR. To summarize, this is what I believe needs to be done : 1) Agencies which enforce regulations should not write the regulations. 2) The revolving door should be shut. 3) Whistle blowers should be protected, encouraged and rewarded. 4) To the greatest extent feasible, those who the regulations are intended to protect should participate in writing and enforcing the regulations. https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/designed-to-fail-why-regulatory-agencies-dont-work/ https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/designed-to-fa...

deelowe 9y ago

Unfortunately, in an attempt to do something about this, the people got conned.

komali2 9y ago
Respectfully, I find this a vague response to a vague post. I don't know what you mean by "this" in "something about this" because I don't understand what sort of regulations the OP is talking about, and I don't know what you mean by "the people got conned."
- deelowe 9y ago
  I think with this election cycle people have taken a scorched earth approach with regards to limiting government involvement in their daily lives and/or addressing the loss of small businesses. I'm not sure throwing the baby out with the bathwater is the right approach.

Analemma_ 9y ago

Blaming the lack of business dynamism on environmental regulation is both wrong and dangerous. Tt encourages people not to take you and the problem seriously, because they (quite reasonably) write you off as just another crony capitalist upset that he can't poison the world without consequence.

ygfvvhygvn 9y ago
That wasn't my intention but I see your point. It's not even the majority of the laws, and was just meant to be part of the joke at the end. However I specifically said we should protect the environment so anyone who feels that way probably doesn't have great reading comprehension

chaostheory 9y ago

What hoops have you had to jump through?

learc83 9y ago

What are some specific examples of regulations that made it too burdensome for you? In my experience, losing employer provided healthcare has been the number one thing preventing people from starting a small business.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
ygfvvhygvn 9y ago
I'm young and healthy so that wasn't an issue for me. I have looked at everything from starting shooting ranges to specialty chemical companies. Most regulations are local. Just look at your local zoning and building codes. It's probably 500+ pages. The other main ones are dealing with taxes. "Straightforward" ventures like algotrading suddenly become not worth it when you realize you will spend more time writing code to ensure that all of your transactions are meticulously recorded than you will actually analyzing data and writing trading algorithms. Not to mention you probably need a team of accountants for the million+ trades that can happen in a year. Without a specific industry I can't really explain the regulations as each has their own. I'll try to come back later and explain more but I'm pretty busy today
- noonespecial 9y ago
  Not to nitpick or anything but guns and chemicals might not be the very best choices of industry for those looking to first dip their feet into the startup pool...
- evgen 9y ago
  Regulations regarding shooting ranges, chemical companies, and algotrading seem burdensome to you... Somehow I think you are exactly the person that we create laws to protect ourselves against.
  - ygfvvhygvn 9y ago
    I'm not sure about the implications you're making about me but it seems a little unfair to judge me based on a few sentences. I was merely trying to show the breadth of industries I have experienced. I can assure you that the vast majority of my business ventures would be approved by even the most effeminate nu-male liberal

xemdetia 9y ago

Can you better describe what kind of hoops you are talking about in your case, or at least what industry? Other than ordinary incorporation (easy) and a few industry specific licensing requirements I have never felt that to be my limiters in starting a business or the risks that put me off it in most things I looked into.

guelo 9y ago

I've started several corporations over the years and the regulations aren't that bad. I have a partner that will get an S-corp going for a few hundred bucks. In any case, the article shows that dynamism was higher in the 70s when there was more regulation.