Zoning Laws Destroy Communities - Troy Camplin - Mises Daily

Zoning Laws Destroy Communities - Troy Camplin - Mises Daily: "With zoning laws, commercial, industrial, and residential areas are separated from each other. The result is blocks of houses, industrial parks, and strips of stores and restaurants. People have to drive miles to go to the store, to work, or even to the park. It is rare to go to the store and see anyone you know.

But imagine a neighborhood without zoning laws. It would then be possible to have, say, a small grocery store on the corner where you could buy fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, and meat. That store would likely be within walking distance, be owned by one of your neighbors, and be designed to serve the neighborhood."

"Zoning laws force you to have your business only in certain locations. This drives up the price of property for businesses, making it harder to start a new business. If I wanted to sell cookies (and I do make some good cookies), I would have to either buy some expensive commercial property or rent a place in a shopping center, get the proper permits and licenses (another barrier to entry into the marketplace), buy stoves and mixers, etc."

"With as many barriers to starting a new business as there are, it's surprising how many do get started. It's typically done by going into debt. This makes it even more difficult for the poor to get out of their poverty. Barred from starting a business at home by zoning and other prohibitory laws, they also cannot get loans due to their poverty and bad credit. Those who do manage to figure out how to make money spend the money frivolously for fear that if they save or invest the money, the government will punish them with fines and audits. Thus, these laws contribute to poor spending habits among the poor. The government can take away your property, but they can never take away the party you threw and had a good time at."

"When our jobs and stores are several miles away, we have to drive." "All that time driving creates large amounts of air pollution, contributing to lung problems and stress."