Most Americans are painfully aware of the amount of taxes they pay, but explicit taxes and spending are only part of the total burden that government places on Americans. The rest comes in the form of hidden taxes imposed by government regulations. These “regulatory taxes” appear on no budget or balance sheet but are very real: They cost Americans an estimated $1 trillion or more each year, and these costs are increasing. In fiscal year 2009, new regulations costing more than $13 billion per year were adopted by the Bush and Obama Administrations, the highest annual total since 1992. Much ...