Thank God for the government. What is interesting to me is that people can comprehend that the State's cartel enforcers are coercive bullies only in the instance of a little girl selling lemonade without a "license." But why is it only heartstring-pulling little girls innocently selling lemonade who get a pass to break the rules? Logically, there is no difference between her and, say, a Mexican burrito wagon. Both are looking to make a little money by providing a good which is - they hope - demanded by consumers.
Actually, it should have gone to the dogs, but didn't. I'm talking about Leona Helmsley's estate , of course. The contract clause of the Constitution says, "No State shall ... pass any ... Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts..." This means that private contracts cannot be changed by legislative edict. This clause is incredibly important because the willingness of private individuals to engage in profitable enterprise - which is the foundation of social welfare - crucially depends on their belief that they can realize a profit. In turn, their belief that they can realize a profit depends on their belief that they can hold parties to a contract liable to the terms in the contract. For example, lenders must have confidence that they can repossess the collateral for a loan if the loan is defaulted on. Otherwise, they will not take the risk of giving the loan in the first place. When lenders are too scared to lend, everyone is worse off. In the case of Leona Hel...
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