Business Opportunities Weblog

So Much for the Land of the Free

By on May 2, 2012 in News

Jailed Business man

While the government says that its doing its working hard to create more jobs, in fact, in many places small business entrepreneurs are under attack by ridiculous new rules that stand a good chance of putting them out of business or sending them to jail. Here are two examples:

Texas requires computer repair technicians to get a private investigator’s license, which could require a degree in criminal justice or three-year apprenticeship. Uncredentialed IT guys could face a $4,000 fine, one year in jail or a $10,000 civil penalty. Consumers who knowingly take their computers to unlicensed companies are subject to the same punishment. Since 2007, anyone in Texas who accesses nonpublic computer files to gather information is deemed by the state to have conducted an “investigation” — thus the requirement.

So much for the lone star state. Things are even worse in the nation’s capital:

In Washington, D.C., unlicensed tour guides can be punished for historical chitchat for up to 90 days in jail.

Watch out! Uncle Sam or his statehouse cronies will put you out of business before you even start.

Photo by Ljupco Smokovski/ShutterStock.

government regulation

Business Opportunities Weblog editor and publisher Dane Carlson lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, just 15 miles from Yosemite National Park. He accidentally became a professional blogger in 2001. He has added 12,208 posts to the site.

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  • djs111

    I believe a lot of onerous regulations are not so much “big government” as ways for larger corporate entities to preserve their market share. Plus you may be very sorry to have gotten into an unlicensed cab or put yourself into the hands of a tour guide who is really a scam artist or worse.
    I think the computer technician rules may be an effort to protect people from handing over their laptops and personal information to data thieves.
    Not saying all regulations are good, but it is hard to strike a balance between onerous regulations and “let the buyer beware, and good luck!”.

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