Government Regulation and Economic Destruction

On Friday I noted that government regulation of the economy was both economically destructive and violated the right to property. Yesterday, I mentioned that St. Augustine, one of the great fathers of the church, recognized the aggressive nature of the emperor the state was no better than a band of thieves when it violated God's moral law.

Twelve further examples of government aggression in the economy can be found here. Some are just ridiculous. In Milwaukee, for example, a business owner who wants to go out of business, must even apply for a license even to do that! In each of these examples mutually beneficial exchange is reduced and people are left worse off than they would be without the regulation. They add to the cost of doing business, which is the last thing we need when trying to get out of the Great Recession. And all of this regulation is the result of the violation of the ethic of property.