There are 4,500 criminal statutes on the federal books alone, according to the Wall Street Journal. Almost half of them have been added since 1970. More than 400 of those have been imposed since 2008. (By you know who.)
Never mind the more than 300,000 regulatory crimes that can also land you in jail. Some like to say Americans commit three felonies every day without even knowing it. The old saw that ignorance of the law is no excuse is a bad joke.
Undoubtedly for the lawmakers as well as the would-be law abiders. How many of our federal pols know every one of these laws? Any? I doubt it.
It would be grand if the new Republican congress could curb congress’s crime addiction. It would be unwise, of course, to count on it. Too bad.
UPDATE: Just the latest regulations are expensive.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 
Oh, but look at the bright side: in the future 50% of the population will be escorted everywhere by another 50%, who will be all lawyers. Finally a solution for employment of all these sharks.