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EPA rules may cost billions to economy

Environmental Protection Agency officials are fond of rationalizing new schemes for draconian regulations by claiming they will save lives and protect millions of people from health problems such as asthma. Seldom are Americans prompted to think about the adverse health effects of EPA rules, however.

New limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds are on the horizon. If the EPA is permitted to proceed with them, they will have devastating effects on many industries. Some analysts worry millions of jobs may be in jeopardy.

Enforcing the new, stiffer rules could cost the U.S. economy as much as $270 billion a year, the American Petroleum Institute warns.

Think about that number in relation to health care. If it is accurate, the new rules would force companies to spend money on compliance they might otherwise have used to provide health insurance for employees. Workers’ paychecks will take a hit for the same reason, leaving them with less money for health care. Prices for the affected industries’ products will go up, depriving virtually every American family of money it could have used for the same purpose.

How severe would the effect be? The $270 billion is enough to provide excellent health insurance, at $1,000 a month, for 22.5 million people. That amount would provide coverage for nearly all the 24.5 million Americans who still lack health insurance.

EPA defenders will insist the $270 billion figure is vastly inflated, of course. But what if the number for that single EPA rule is off the mark? What has been the cumulative effect of hundreds of air, water and soil quality regulations since the EPA began issuing mandates? And what will be the harm caused by other proposals by the agency?

In other words, how much less healthy are we because of regulations the bureaucrats claim are essential to safeguard our health?

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