Friday, November 22, 2019

Free People Don't Ask the Government for Permission

Americans are supposed to be free to live as we choose-unobstructed by government and limited solely by others' right to exercise their free will.

Just because the government has passed laws, through its established process of legislating and regulating, doesn't mean that such rules are worthy of blind obedience.

Our country has strayed so far from those concepts that we've morphed into society where we constantly need permission from the government to proceed.

Whereas government previously needed a compelling reason to restrict our actions, it now demands a host of permits, fees, pre-approvals and justifications.

This "Mother, may I?" situation has turned the notion of a free society on its head. "Whether it be building a house, getting a job, owning a gun, expressing one's political beliefs, or even taking a life-saving medicine, laws and regulations at the federal, state and local levels now impose permit requirements that forbid us to act unless we first get permission from the government," wrote Timothy Sandefur in his new book, "The Permission Society." He blames the Progressive movement, which is accurate, but conservatives also do the same thing when it comes to drug laws, tariffs and security measures.

Keep in mind that a competitive market-not government rule-making-does the best job of assuring that people have necessary skills.

Instead of making it easier for people to work, our state government is ramping up its undercover stings so that it can arrest people for committing these victimless crimes.

https://reason.com/2019/11/22/free-people-dont-ask-the-government-for-permission/

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