In New Jersey, The Nanny State Will Now Fine You For Texting And Walking

by Grant Phillips

[dropcap size=small]G[/dropcap]overnment bureaucrats always look for ways to regulate something for their own profit. In recent years, personal responsibility has become a lucrative venture for fine-happy governments. They use heavy handed laws to make the world a padded room with you in a bubble. The world has never been a safe place and no government mandate will change that. “Nanny state” laws are a poor way to institute personal responsibility and they can have deadly outcomes.

Many of these “nanny state” laws are meant to curb undesirable behavior that could lead to injury or death. In New Jersey, a zealous small town government has made it illegal to text and walk. Why? “There have been 23 pedestrian accidents since January [5 months]…three fatalities were reported”. These kind of laws are revenue collection under the guise of “protecting you”. It’s not the government’s job to protect you from yourself, nor are they good at doing it. These busy-bodies seem to think making something illegal means it will cease to exist. That must be how we got everyone to stop using drugs!

In Santa Monica, CA, late night food trucks are now banned from Main Street. After people had been drinking at night, they would venture over to the food trucks. The police said it was “turning into a bit of a party scene”. Leave it to government to take the fun out of drunk munchies. Their intent may have been your safety, but the result will be an economic loss. Food trucks will lose a lot of business and not be able to expand as quickly. Due to less foot traffic, the neighboring businesses could also experience a loss. If Santa Monica wants to keep their residents safe, they should encourage ride sharing services to get their patrons home safely; not ridiculous bans on fun.

Nanny state laws also invade property rights at home. In a Michigan town, residents were using their garages as a living space. However, one burned down because of an incident with a heater. Consequently, no one is allowed to use their garage as a living space because, in the words of head social do-gooder, “it’s a problem”. This blatant disregard for property rights has plagued all levels of government. Bureaucrats cannot micromanage your property to make it safe for you. No amount of arbitrary fire codes can prevent a house fire. However, free markets improve building materials and fire suppression technologies to mitigate the risk of fire more effectively than any mandate.

When government makes such laws, the outcomes can be widespread and deadly.

Cigarette taxes attempt to curb smoking. It is not a coincidence they are an ever growing source of revenue. However, the result of high taxes on smokes has created a massive black market in high demand, high tax New York City. Their attempt to curb smoking has been convoluted by the desire for revenue and spending. The result is a large underground group that are all, by definition, criminals. When the state makes someone a criminal, the police come looking for them. If you resist, you might end up dead, such as Eric Garner. Busy-bodies bureaucrats do not understand the implication of a law: “do this, or we will kill you.” [RELATED: Liberals killed Eric Garner]

As everything has become illegal, more people are going to jail or being fined amounts they cannot pay. It is no surprise that recidivism has increased. When people are handed exorbitant fines, they must pay them by forgoing another purchase, whether that be a necessity or not. If they cannot pay the fine, the state will further punish them with fines and jail time. Thus, poor people are adversely affected by these laws and it makes them an easy target.

Limiting government means accepting personal responsibility for your actions and decisions. You may not like when sagging pants, but is the solution really government extortion? As fines are increasingly levied on citizens, money is being taken out of the economy and allocated to bureaucrats. Furthermore, these lucrative revenue schemes can be devastating to individuals and families living pay check to pay check.

If the government really cared about helping you, they wouldn’t extort you for money. Government overreach is too often extensive, but the nanny state forces their heavy hand right into your life.

[divider]About the Author[/divider]Grant Phillips is The Modern Libertarian. He writes about economics and philosophy on his blog, and spreads the word of freedom on his Facebook page. A self-proclaimed thinker, Grant applies libertarian principles to social and economic issues. He is a gun enthusiast, avid golfer, and freedom ninja.

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