The worst public policy abuses happen at the local level. Sure the IRS is a pain, but they deal with so many people that it's unlikely that they will really single you out for destruction. It's the city, county or, God forbid, coastal commission that allows some functionary to jerk you around. Local governments are totally oblivious to the undercurrent of resentment held by those who have had to deal with them. I think that's one reason why Prop. 207 passed so overwhelmingly.
Here's a great example. A restaurant has an outdoor patio and a one man band. Occasionally someone gets up to dance. The County decided that this means that the business is really an outdoor dance hall in the guise of a restaurant. This must be stopped.
"A Pinal County restaurant owner has been ordered to stop allowing his patrons to dance outdoors or face a $5,000-a-day fine. The ruling, issued by a Pinal County hearing officer Tuesday, comes after a two-part zoning compliance hearing that began last week.
Dale Bell, the owner of Sana Tan Flat, a restaurant and saloon in an unincorporated area of Pinal County southeast of Queen Creek, challenged the county when it said he was violating zoning ordinances by allowing his customers to dance when a one-man band played on an outdoor stage."
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