The Case for Regulatory Sandboxes


State legislatures can give innovative businesses a reprieve from onerous rules.

In a December interview, Elon Musk challenged government leaders to take out the regulatory trash. Outdated rules and regulations strip society of its dynamism and “harden the arteries of civilization,” he said. Though governments invest great effort in creating new rules, they don’t make a corresponding effort to eliminate old ones. Elected leaders can step up to the challenge. Legislatures should enact regulatory “sandboxes”—policies that allow businesses to operate without regulatory strictures for a limited period—to protect innovative companies from outdated rules while determining which regulations should be eliminated permanently.

Read the full commentary on City Journal.

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