STATE ISSUES
Industry - Excessive regulations are destructive to industry. As a business owner, I am very aware of the incredible burden and overhead that is imposed and mandated by our government. It not only hurts business, but it drives people out of business. There is no way to know what the cost of over-regulation is, but it is certainly many billions of dollars and millions of man-hours that are made to be non-productive. Yes, some regulations are inevitable, but these should be as few as possible, with a view of maximizing employment, not special interests.
Employment - The same excessive regulatory destruction that hurts industry hurts employment as well. Instead of expanding and investing in new products, personnel, and ideas, businesses must divert much of their time and effort into regulatory matters. People need good productive jobs, not bureaucratic nightmares.
Tax-and-switch - The federal government should get out of the blackmail business - taking money from state citizens and then offering to return it to the states if they will comply with federal policies. That is not a moral way to run a country. If the federal government would limit itself to its constitutional jurisdictions, then the states and the people would have all the money they need to provide for their own services. The federal government was created by the states, and for the benefit of the states. According to the 10th amendment - part of the Bill of Rights - states rights (as well as the people's rights) precede and supersede federal rights.
Education - This is one area where the federal government really has it all wrong. If the federal government limited itself to its proper constitutional jurisdictions, the people and the states would have all the money they need for education. The federal government is blackmailing the local and state governments by offering to give them money taken from the state's citizens if they will comply with federal demands. This is tyranny by the Feds over the people, their local governments, and the states. Education is the responsibility of parents, not the federal government.