Mises Wire

Government at Work

Government at Work
Mises Wire Jeffrey A. Tucker

Let's say a City Council set out to improve the community. Does banning Wal-Mart supercenters, as San Diego has done, contribute to the goal? After all, if the community opposed such stores, they would go out of business. If the community supports them, they would thrive. So there is a test to discern what is good and what is not good for the community, but to discover the answer, one has to permit producers and consumers freedom to make choices for themselves. To override the market test and declare the true answer ahead of time shows disdain for the citizens the city council supposedly serves. Maybe the citizen shoppers should retaliate and ban city councils? (Thanks Manuel Lora)

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