There may be an increasing awareness that regulation has gotten out of hand and may be causing more problems than it solves. There are plenty of regulatory horror stories, and everyone has their favorite.
However, the real damage comes from the accumulated harm of the enormous number of projects never built, such as the homes that could have made housing more affordable, roads, bridges and transit that would speed movement and perhaps lower costs, factories and office buildings that could provide jobs, and power plants that would be cleaner, and often more efficient, than the ones replaced.
At the end of the day, this is primarily a political problem, and the two main parties have been deadlocked. That said, there may be some evidence that the politics may now be more favorable to progress than they have been.
Investors will have to wait and see. Leaving things as they are could lead to a status quo that is grossly out of touch with the challenges the country faces.
All comments and suggestions are welcome.
Walter J. Kirchberger, CFA
