Obama’s Rules Cost Illinois Jobs

by Emily Dietrich Should the government tell you what to eat? When to eat? Or how much to eat? What about if it cost jobs? What if you lost your job because the government regulated who-could-eat-what? U.S. Representative Peter Roskam predicts Illinois families will be facing this exact situation. In The Chicago Sun-Times, he writes: “Illinois-based...

by Emily Dietrich

Should the government tell you what to eat? When to eat? Or how much to eat?

What about if it cost jobs? What if you lost your job because the government regulated who-could-eat-what?

U.S. Representative Peter Roskam predicts Illinois families will be facing this exact situation. In The Chicago Sun-Times, he writes:

“Illinois-based food producer Sara Lee could soon face lower sales and higher costs and provide fewer jobs if the administration goes through with a particularly overreaching food regulation that would dramatically restrict their ability to advertise many food products — in the name of fighting childhood obesity.

“While well-intentioned, the proposed guideline would eliminate Sara Lee-owned Ballpark Hot Dogs’ sponsorship of baseball’s Detroit Tigers, restrict athletes from appearing on General Mills’ Wheaties cereal and restrict Sara Lee from advertising a lean turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread during the Super Bowl, all because people under 18 represent large audiences for these advertisements.”

What’s the effect of these over-reaching regulations?

First, they won’t create jobs. Regulating hot dog advertisements does not produce more private-sector jobs. Nor does preventing children from seeing sport stars on their cereal boxes.

Second, these regulatory policies could cost Illinois jobs. When companies’ advertising is restricted, they make fewer sales and consequently, they produce less. Less production means fewer employees and fewer employees means fewer jobs. The end result is higher food prices for Illinoisans and less employment.

Yet, the government overreach in Illinois doesn’t stop with food. Sweeping regulatory policy harms manufacturing as well.

Roskam notes another Obama rule coming down the pike. A new restriction from the EPA will regulate greenhouse gases from stationary sources. The EPA estimates that this forthcoming regulation will cost businesses $132 million nationally in the first year and expand EPA oversight to 10,000 facilities. As an example, Illinois business Chicago White Metal Casting would be hit hard. The Bensenville manufacturer employs 240 people and would face a significant hurdle with the imposition of the new regulation.

Furthermore, Roskam says that Chicago-based Boeing has had to divert resources to offset their legal battle with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB ruled that Boeing violated the law when it opened a new one billion dollar manufacturing plant in South Carolina. Instead of pushing for further job creation, Boeing has had to spend valuable time and money to fight government regulation.

Roskam warns that the Obama administration’s regulatory policy has gotten out of control: “the Obama administration has turned rule-making into an assault on American businesses and the jobs they create.”