Thus, because of a few unraked leaves and a refusal to kowtow, a person could lose the title to his house. Zoning laws Some politicians openly brag about the power that zoning regulations give them. The targeted area was on the dilapidated side, and many business owners saw no reason to spend thousands of extra dollars. I asked them to put up instead of a wire fence a wrought-iron fence. But at the same time that it pretended not to be a government, Montgomery County continued its coercive efforts to micromanage the lives of local residents.
Politicians often talk of how they wish to benefit, protect, or help the citizenry.
But the tools of the state are limited. The state can impose new prohibitions and restrictions, create new penalties, or impose taxes in order to finance benefits. Every increase in the size of government means an increase in coercion - either an increase in the amount of a person's paycheck that government seizes or an increase in the number of types of behavior for which a government can jail, imprison, or fine a citizen. Every increase in government spending means an increase in political power - and a new pretext to seize private paychecks. Coercion is the essence of government in the same way that profit is the essence of private businesses.