So I was reading RocDocs Butter links and found.

So I was reading the butter links in the Ring that RocDoc posted. Very interesting, don't know why it is in the ring.

Found this link, I am not posting it because I fully agree with it or don't, just thought those that discuss helping those in need would find this interesting, as with people who feel that those in need can help themselves

and most of all, those that feel that government policies are keeping people poor or making them so.

http://www.thefreemanonline.org/feature ... -the-poor/

Finally someone else who sees the damage and costs of zoning and building codes among other programs. I know people here generally argue for these things despite their huge costs.

I know my house in Park costs 50% more than it needed to in order to comply, with no increases in performance or safety. I have since built the same house in a location with no codes and saved 1/3 (that is the 50% increase in Park), like enough for a family of 4 to live for a year. It's more expensive to build here than in Massachusetts (which does have codes and zoning, but not as much as Park unless you are in the city), not to mention the process of approvals and inspections is much slower here, increasing costs even more.

Good article- just read through it.

We live in a regulation nation now- and the thousands of rules, restrictions, taxes, fees, and hoops our government has set up over time is now in my opinion- keeping prosperity from happening. We simply have too much government at all levels and the massive overhead of all this simply wipes out the profit margin of America.

It is estimated that the "true cost of government" is so much higher than most of us realize- that we all work now from Jan1 until August 12 just to pay for all the various levels of government- Federal, state, Local - taxes, regulations, fees and required compliance with all the rules.

To more accurately measure the true cost of government, ATRF has calculated a Cost of Government Day. We determine this each year by adding the cost of government spending at all levels to a conservative estimate of all regulatory burdens—and then counting how many days of the year Americans work to pay the costs of government.

The Tax Foundation divides total federal, state and local taxes by total national income to come up with Tax Freedom Day. This year America worked until April 12 to pay all taxes.

When you include the costs of federal deficit spending and the regulatory burden this year, however, you don't reach the Cost of Government Day until Aug. 12. Americans will work for 103 days to pay for federal spending, 44 days for state and local spending and 77 days to cover the cost of the regulatory burden.

Read the true cost of government article here...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904007304576498683254344262.html

Talking about zoning and building codes- I was at one time a home builder and have personally seen the "evolution" of these regulations and it is not a stretch to say that half of the cost of a house today is tied up in government regulations which have little to no effect on our safety, but they have a massive effect on the cost of housing.

I remember a project I had in Park County in the early 80's where the plan was drawn up in 15 minutes on a 8.5X11 inch sheet of paper and the permit was drawn from the building department in under 60 minutes.

The first house I built in Evergreen in the early 80's was the same way- I drew up the plans myself and spent 3 hours at the building department obtaining my permit. The same process today can take up to 6 months and the list of requirements like "Improvement Location Certificate's" and the like can drive up the price by many thousands of dollars before one even gets started.

I am convinced that the single largest impediment to our local economy is our local government these days- the list of hoops a business or homeowner has to just through is astounding- and many home improvement projects are just shelved when the homeowner discovers it all, and the same thing for a business startup.

I personally know many people who would like to add a deck or garage or start a little cafe- but once they get into the details find that they do not have anywhere near the money it takes to pay for material, labor AND comply with all the regulations that our local government throws at them.

And if we want to prosper again- we have to get rid of all this overhead.