1 In 3 Need Gov Permission To Work — About 1 in 20 Americans needed government permission to work in the 1950s. Today it’s 1 in 3, according to Commonwealth Foundation. The loss of freedom comes from requirements for training, fees, licenses and other bits of red tape magic aimed at keeping the Dolores Umbridges of the world happily sipping their tea in bureaucratic positions of power.
A Illinois man, as a remembrance to a friend killed by a drunk driver, began offering tipsy bar patrons a free ride home. He was busted for “operating without a transportation service license” in a sting orchestrated by the local taxi drivers and the police.
In Pennsylvania, an ad hoc barter system popped in where residents gave rides in return for services to the Amish who have a religious prohibition against owning or driving a car.
The state’s Public Utilities Commission pushed police to set up stake-outs to catch these violators of the requirement to have a transportation license.
It’s for our own good, of course.
“We are trying to protect the public interest and public safety,” a PUC spokeswoman said.
An excellent and scary article by Katrina Currie of Commonwealth Foundation points out that an attempt was made by the Pennsylvania legislature this year to require a license for interior designers. What was the public safety issue? The danger of mauve rugs clashing with orange walls?
Ms. Currie notes that in 2008 the state sued a a mom for $10 million for selling items on eBay without an auctioneers license and that Philadelphia bloggers now must have a $300 business privilege license if they want to sell ads on their site.
A third of Americans need Big Brothers permission to work. Fighting to stop the encroachment is not enough. It’s time to start being a little like Harry Potter and start fighting to roll it back.
Dolores Umbridges, the bureaucrat in J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter’s books ought to be working in Harrisburg’s Office of Public Liaison under that very heavyweight champion of citizen’s rights, Eddie Rendell. The OPL is supposed to serve as the primary link between the governor and Pennsylvania citizens. Ha!
The link is obviously broken. The OPL should be erased and replaced an “Office of Getting Rid of Silly Laws and Regulations.
Let’s drink a cup of tea to that.
It is even worse than the 1 in 3 stat suggests. If you work in a business that makes house calls, you will be required to hold multiple licenses in the places you visit. I hold 2 licenses, state and city, and I have to deal with 5 licensing and permitting agencies within 25 minutes of my house.
Kidney:
I would strongly advise you to join the Tea Party.