Tennessee Lt. Gov. Website Cuts Government Red Tape

From The Tennessee Report

Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey said he hopes to create a “megaphone” for Tennessee small businesses by launching a website that will give them a place to air their grievances with state government.

He says the site, TNRedTape.com, which stands for “Ridiculous Employee Decisions That Affect People Every Day” will collect complaints about dealing with Tennessee government bureaucracy.

“Tell me how government red tape has affected your life. I’ll help you cut it,” Ramsey said via Twitter moments after he announced the website Monday in a press conference at Capitol Hill.

His staff will manage the website and chase down submitted complaints, such as problems applying for a business license, and try to rectify the problems.

Ramsey, who is titled the “chief red tape cutter” on the website, doesn’t know how much maintaining the website and following up on complaints will cost the state of Tennessee, he said. But “this will be best money that has ever been spent in the state of Tennessee” if they ease headaches for small businesses.

The site was applauded by representatives from the National Federation of Independent Business and the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, a free-market think tank.

“The regulatory environment in our country and in our state is crushing free enterprise and job creation,” said Jim Brown, state director of the NFIB.. “A lot of folks have been talking about jobs bills. Where’s the jobs bills? And, in our minds, this is part of a jobs bill.”