Posted on 01/04/2016 1:33:22 PM PST by reaganaut1
American cities used to be teeming with entrepreneurs of all ages, races and religions. People with the combination of ambition to improve themselves and at least one good idea for a product or service others desired could start a small business and then build on their success. (A fascinating book that recounts many of those success stories is They Made America by Harold Evans.)
Today, however, it is much harder to start from scratch and achieve prosperity through business. One reason is the siren song of government dependence. Supposedly compassionate welfare policies lure in many people with their hand-outs. Once they're in the orbit of the State, few people escape.
Another reason is that those who do have the drive to work toward prosperity encounter numerous legal obstacles that add to the cost and risk of entrepreneurial ventures. Many of those who "made it" in the past would today crash on the rocks of federal, state, and local laws - laws that often are motivated by the desires of existing businesses to hinder new competitors.
One field that is particularly cluttered with such obstacles is street vending. A new study released by the Institute for Justice, Upwardly Mobile, focuses on the difficulties real life entrepreneurs face in our major cities (as well as some smaller ones) as they try to gain a foothold and grow. Sometimes they've had had to fold - not for lack of effort and ideas but simply because city regulations were too burdensome.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
I could start a vending business on the streets of New York City tomorrow.
I could start a vending business on the streets of New York City tomorrow.
I never have understood why barbers have to be licensed. If they are good at it, they will have repeat customers, if they are bad at it, soon enough they will be out of business.
Street vendors give a city a real Third-World look. Regulating activities on public streets is actually one of the few legitimate functions of any government. You can’t have a well-functioning city if you have merchants paying rent in a storefront while they compete against vendors who can camp out up the street and pay no rent at all.
One thing I noticed when I went to Hong Kong in the late 80s was I didn’t see one beggar, but street vendors were everywhere. People set up hibachis and cooked meat skewers, sold ties, all kinds of stuff. Vastly preferable to the panhandlers in US cities.
Tampa loves Food Trucks...
Sanitary issues; their training deals with dealing with lice and cleaning equipment.
A friend described the same thing in Spain; beside Gypsies (who were outright thieves), they had street performers instead of panhandlers.
In the meantime, last summer I pull up to an intersection in Newark NJ and have a choice of 1) buying cold bottled water from a Hispanic vendor, 2) buying flowers from an Indian vendor, or 3) giving money to a black panhandler in exchange for nothing. I was surprised he held out there; he must have gotten nothing...
The street vendors in Olongapo had the best monkey meat. Yumm!
Thus, like dozens of other silly mandates the state requires, licensing for barbers should be eliminated.
My wife, who has been cutting my hair for nigh on a half century, accidently sliced her forefinger, right hand and has to wear a splint to keep from bending the finger, cannot cut my hair which is getting mighty shabby, not to mention my beard.
Upshot of all of this - I'm gonna have to find a barber and I'm bettin' I won't find one that will allow me to pat her on the butt as my wife allows when she cuts my hair.
Allegedly it's for sanitation reasons. My father's barber shop was regularly inspected to make sure he was disinfecting combs and scissors between customers, and using clean towels for customers. There's probably some merit in the inspections, but I'm not sure why that requires licensing of the barber.
A couple sells food off the sidewalk. They do it for enough years that they can afford a truck. Now they sell food out of the truck. Eventually they make enough money to rent out a restaurant.
But their dreams are shattered because there are now swarms of trucks and street vendors selling similar food for much less. The only thing the restaurateurs have to offer is a comfortable place to sit while eating a more expensive meal.
If they actually come up with something new like a teriyaki-tamale, then that idea is taken up by a venture capitalist and turned into a thousand Chipotle wannabes overnight.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.