How I’ll Slash the Regulation Tax

[Commentary] To understand what is wrong with the regulatory culture of the US under President Barack Obama, consider this alarming statistic: the US ranks 46th in the world in terms of ease of starting a business. That is unacceptable.

My goal as president would be to find and retire the rules that are posing a major obstacle to people who want to get a job, start a business, move up the income ladder or do anything else that contributes to the prosperity of this nation. If elected president, I will use my executive authority to direct agencies to create one dollar of regulatory savings for each new dollar of regulatory cost they propose. We will eliminate and reform outdated and burdensome rules and, when necessary, work with Congress and the courts to overcome legal obstacles that stand in the way of sensible savings. I will work to repeal the so-called network neutrality rule forced on the Federal Communications Commission by the White House.

Most important, as president, I will be guided by the faith that we are a nation of free men and women who are capable of achieving far more than liberals and regulators believe possible. Once we remove the burdens of overregulation, America will once again reclaim its reputation for inventiveness, energy and boundless opportunity.

[Bush, a former governor of Florida, is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.]