Questions for the New Year

"...slime of a new bureaucracy." -- Franz Kafka


What is the maximum number of laws and regulations possible in a human society before any action becomes impossible?
How many new laws and regulations are added per year? Do they increase as a arithmetical or geometric rate?
Conversely,  how close are we to the point where it is the best policy to assume every action is forbidden unless explicitly permitted?

At some point, a software agent that can check the legislation in real time against your actions would be a useful app for every prudent person. And likewise, on that could file applications and permits without delay would also be useful.
Consider the advantages of robotic arbitrage, high-speed robotic lawyers may also prove beneficial.

I'm surprised that science fiction missed this.

EDIT: I keep thinking of the repeated refrain from  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas... "As your attorney, I advise..." but spoken in one of those creepy high-end synthesized voices.