If you are feeling like your small business is over regulated, it probably is.  A new national survey conducted by Moore Information found that by nearly a two-to-one margin, American voters believe business and industry are over-regulated in this country.  Today, 45% of voters believe there is "too much" government regulation of business.

That shouldn't surprise any of us who own or a run a small business.   The reach of the federal government has continued to grow over the last decade, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

In fact, the biggest debates taking place in Washington, DC are all centered around expanding government regulations on business and industry: 

• The President's health care proposal is focused on mandating health care coverage for businesses of all shapes and sizes and paying for it with new taxes on employers and employees;

• Legislation to create the Consumer Finance Protection Agency would add new restrictions on financial service products from the types of loans banks could offer to new regulations for those who receive loans;

• Congress continues to debate legislation that would expand the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) from companies that employ 50 or more workers to cover businesses with as few as 25 employees;  and

• Congressional Democrats have introduced legislation that would mandate employers to give workers seven paid sick days a year.  There are over 100 co-sponsors on the legislation and they have already had a hearing on the issue.

Government should avoid imposing costly mandates on our small businesses, especially at a time when they can least afford it.  It is time for policy makers to find creative solutions to our problems instead of always resorting to creating new regulations.

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