Came across two stories recently w.r.t. the government’s war on commerce.
Delinda Epstein, a 51-year-old Las Vegas resident, had comfortable life prior to the real estate collapse that cost her a good job with a construction company. Unemployed for more than a year, she lost her truck and home, and now lives in a tiny apartment.
Desperate to pay the rent, Epstein decided to post an ad on Craigslist offering to do small chores, run errands, and perform other odd jobs in exchange for a negotiated fee. Providing transportation was one of several services she mentioned.
Shortly thereafter, she received a call from a man identifying himself as “Richie,” who wanted to be picked up at the airport and shuttled over to Rhodes Ranch (an upscale “golf course community”). Epstein drove to the airport, picked up the man, and negotiated a $30 fee.
Immediately thereafter, a badge-wielding goon rapped on her windshield and announced that he and “Richie” were undercover officers with the Transportation Authority (TA). Epstein was slapped with a $3,800 fine for offering “unlicensed transportation services.”
The fine was reduced to $250, which is still an extravagant sum given Epstein’s straitened circumstances. She had to surrender her car, which had been impounded would be returned only if Epstein paid several hundred dollars in processing fees. And the TA is demanding that she get rid of her cell phone number — which had been used in hundreds of job applications — because it had been used in a supposedly illegal business transaction.
(Read more from lewrockwell.com)
See also:
Certified Trades, Permits, Licenses, Insurance . . . . These only protecting cartels, government and insurance companies, NOT consumers.