Carried to extremes, it could lead to such absurdities as a local government prosecuting a church bingo game because it diverts Thursday night customers from the local-government riverboat casino. One could suspect that the Justice Department's interest in Internet gambling has more to do with the inability to collect taxes on offshore casinos than any detrimental effects it might have on society. And gambling isn't the only area of potential trouble. Recently the Supreme Court struck at the ability of law enforcement to use drug asset forfeiture money, saying government agencies shouldn't profit from drug busts. It is a fundamental conflict of interest.
Some states have a monopoly on hard liquor sales.
Perhaps the height of absurdity was when the IRS actually managed a Nevada brothel for a time, after it defaulted on a tax liability. Recent attacks on the tobacco industry by health advocates puts tax revenues in jeopardy and compromises tobacco-tax dependent government agencies. When any organization begins running on autopilot, it sooner or later collides with new realities. At that point, decisions must be made. For example, while perhaps nothing is more important to adults than their children's futures, public schools have lost the support of the public.