Yep, We’re Creatin’ Us Some Jobs Up In Here!

“It’s about jobs!”

“We have to grow the economy!”

We hear the lament on the news and in speeches every day.  In fact, the news is on in the background as I type and the President just talked about eliminating red tape and regulations.  But the truth is, politicians of both stripes speak with forked tongue and I don’t mean the forked tongue on the Gadsden flag.  Think I’m wrong?  Think again Spanky.

Here’s my first example,  fresh from a group that fights this crap every day, the Institute for Justice.

My Streets! My Eats! is a grassroots campaign to spread the word about the legal restrictions Chicago places on mobile chefs and to advocate for reform.  Currently, Chicago’s laws say no to mobile chefs over and over again: no preparation of food on a truck or cart, no serving customers before 10 am, no stopping within 200 feet of a restaurant.  My Streets! My Eats! aims to mobilize Chicagoans to urge City Council to say yes to mobile chefs by repealing these restrictions.  Chicago should let entrepreneurs figure out what customers want and serve it up fresh and hot!

It get’s even better.  IJ published a nice little map of downtown Chicago showing where food trucks can actually operate based on these regulations.  Hint: they can operate anywhere there’s no orange tint.  Great guys! I have a perfect spot inside the flippin’ cloverleaf…

Now, why would Chicago have these onerous restrictions?  Has there been an outbreak of  food poisonings from food trucks? Nope.  Based on the restrictions, there’s no point to this other than protection of existing restaurants. Zero, zip, nadda.  It’s what bad government does, protects one business at the expense of another.  Who loses?  Ultimately, we all do.  If these people can’t employ themselves, you and I will end up paying their entitlements.  They won’t be paying taxes on the business they would generated.  Worse yet, its government force being used to eliminate your choice to choose whether or not you want to have lunch at a food truck.

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Question, if the city can essentially outlaw a food truck to protect restaurants, what’s to keep them from outlawing sack lunches?  After all if you bring your lunch to work isn’t that unfair competition?