Economic Reality: RRP Constraints Lead to Job Loss

ROCHESTER, NH, July 15, 2011 — A lot has changed for Packy Campbell since he started the small business RSA Realty and Development 12 years ago, and much of that change has been over the last three years.

The 4,500-square-foot building off Route 11 used to have about 35 employees; now it's Campbell and his wife who utilize about 1,000 square feet. Campbell said he doesn't see the economy improving and is still feeling the effects of the downturn and an unemployment rate that is above 9 percent.

Campbell said there have been regulations instituted under the Obama administration that have made it more difficult for small business owners to do business. One such regulation concerns lead paint. Campbell said while fines used to be issued only when a property owner did something wrong involving lead paint, regulations have changed so a property owner must be lead certified to work on or remediate lead paint. Without a certification, a property owner would be fined for trying to fix a lead paint problem.