http://healthblog.ncpa.org/regulation/? ... more-29815
Nope (aside the deleterious effects of public financing the regulation).
Aside from the enormous costs in terms of time and money, what difference does all this [labor laws and regulation] make? Surprisingly little.
Take the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The OāNeillās find that the black/white wage gap was narrowing at about the same rate in the two decades leading up to the passage of the act as it did in the years that followed. Only in the South is there evidence that the legislation mattered. Outside the South, federal legislation basically followed social change rather than lead it. The wages of blacks rose relative to those of whites over time for two primary reasons: (1) more schooling and better schooling and (2) the migration of blacks out of the South.
As for the wages of men and women, the OāNeillās find no evidence that antidiscrimination policies have made a difference, including the actions of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
Most health and safety legislation also obeys Goodmanās Law. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates workplace safety. Yet in the years leading up to OSHA, workplace fatalities were falling at the same rate as they fell in the period after its passage. Non-fatal injuries show no impact of OSHA as well.
How does it feel?