A new report highlighting the economic benefits of the Clean Air Act.
The report found over the past 4 decades that 1.3M jobs were created as a direct result of environmental standards. These regulations set the groundwork for the United States to be the global leader in environmental technology exports, generating 40 times the economic benefits than the costs of the regulations.
These benefits help illustrate why small businesses support the EPA in helping the United States transition to a cleaner economy. Nearly 500 small business owners from across the country signed a statement of support circulated by the Main Street Alliance for the EPA's new standards regarding greenhouse gas emissions by large emitters.
Or did it?
HAASE - I am curious how this report correlates to the "Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms Report" by the U.S. Small Business Administration stating that the annual cost of federal regulations in the United States increased to more than $1.75 trillion in 2008. Had every U.S. household paid an equal share of the federal regulatory burden, each would have owed $15,586 in 2008?
They put the cost of environmental regulations in a range between between $175 billion and $280 billion when converted into 2009 dollars. This report uses the high end of the cost range provided in the OMB reports and Hahn and Hird (1991). This reflects a judgment that cost estimates are absent for important environmental regulations and that government agencies tend to be conservative in estimating regulatory costs????
