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Examples range from the merely annoying (eg, a proposed code for nurseries in Colorado that specifies how many crayons each box must contain) to the delusional (eg, the conceit of Dodd-Frank that you can anticipate and ban every nasty trick financiers will dream up in the future). Far from preventing abuses, complexity creates loopholes that the shrewd can abuse with impunity.
The other force that makes American laws complex is lobbying. The government’s drive to micromanage so many activities creates a huge incentive for interest groups to push for special favours. When a bill is hundreds of pages long, it is not hard for congressmen to slip in clauses that benefit their chums and campaign donors. The health-care bill included tons of favours for the pushy. Congress’s last, failed attempt to regulate greenhouse gases was even worse.
Complexity costs money. Sarbanes-Oxley, a law aimed at preventing Enron-style frauds, has made it so difficult to list shares on an American stockmarket that firms increasingly look elsewhere or stay private. America’s share of initial public offerings fell from 67% in 2002 (when Sarbox passed) to 16% last year, despite some benign tweaks to the law. A study for the Small Business Administration, a government body, found that regulations in general add $10,585 in costs per employee. It’s a wonder the jobless rate isn’t even higher than it is.

A. 어휘
range from A to B 범위가 A에서 B까지 이다.
annoying 난처한, 성가신. proposed code 제출된 법안.
nurseries 보육원. specifies 詳述(상술)하다. delusional 妄想(망상)적인.
conceit 상상, 空想(공상), 자만. anticipate 예상하다. ban 금지하다.
nasty 추잡한, 몹시 더러운. abuses 악용, 濫用(남용), 학대.
complexity 복잡성. loopholes 허점, 빠져 나가는 구멍.
shrewd 약삭빠른. with impunity 벌을 받지 않고, 무사히.
micromanage 미세하게 관리하다. interest groups 이익집단.
special favours 특혜. bill 法案(법안). slip in 밀어 넣다.
clauses 條項(조항). chums 친구, 竹馬故友(죽마고우).
the pushy 뱃심이 좋은 사람들, 주제넘게 나서는 사람들.
frauds 사기꾼. Enron 미국의 금융 사기꾼. list shares 주식을 上場(상장)하다.
stay private 비상장 회사로 남아 있다. share 分擔(분담).
initial public offerings 회사가 주식시장에 처음으로 상장하는 것.
benign 상냥한, 祥瑞(상서)로운. tweaks 조정, 비틀기.