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Americans are subject to an ever-increasing amount of government control. Proponents of government activism argue that health and safety regulations improve industries, that the environment must be protected at any cost, and that eminent domain was instituted for the public good. They are right only to a point: abuse within the system is rampant, making it very difficult for small businesses to succeed and, in many cases, depriving ordinary people of their property without just compensation. Mugged by the State provides an eye-opening look at the misery excessive regulation can cause for law-abiding citizens. The book is written in anecdotal style, peppered with horrifying accounts of government ineptitude and unfairness. Take, for example, the case of a Boy Scout who got lost on territory that was specially protected for environmental reasons. Another example is the case of a motel owner in a high-crime area who scrupulously cooperated with his local police department to reduce crime by giving officers permission to patrol the motel, hiring night security guards, and installing video cameras to monitor the parking lot. Police officials then demanded that the owner raise his room rates because they believed doing so would discourage drug users. The owner refused because the only way he could compete with other motels in the area was by keeping rates low. The police retaliated by harassing the guests. Desperate to keep his business going, the motel owner withdrew from the trespass agreement he had made with the police department; shortly afterwards a suit was filed against him, claiming that he had facilitated drug activity by refusing to cooperate with police. The owner was guilty of nothing more than trying to make a living. Some of the victims Fitzgerald describes were able to fight back successfully. Such victories are encouraging; however, it is clear that decades of government regulation will not be overturned without much effort. Can we stem the tide of excessive government regulation? Perhaps to a small extent. It is unlikely that we will ever return to absolutely laissez-faire capitalism (since that brings its own problems), but if pressured enough, elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels can probably be convinced to limit eminent domain and get rid of some of the more stupid laws regulating small businesses. The author provides an appendix listing various legal foundations dedicated to protecting economic liberty and private property rights. Mugged by the State is the sort of book that provides conservatives and libertarians with new ammunition, crammed as it is with stories of corruption and abuse. Moderate liberals who read it might be persuaded to re-think their views; hopeless liberals will be reduced to inarticulate sputtering. (Regnery Publishing, 2003, 155 pps, $19.95) |
Three days passed before the government would permit a helicopter to rescue the boy because regulations prohibited aircraft from landing there except in life-or-death situations.
