Virginia Is Not for Small Businessesby S.M. OlivaJun. 13, 2011 |
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No matter how bad the economy gets, governments at all levels will always put their own petty authority ahead of productive market activities. An example is the Batesville Store in rural Albermarle County, Virginia, which was closed -- without notice or due process -- by a local bureaucrat who decreed the store, which was being used primarily as a restaurant and live music venue, had too many seats. The store’s owners explained: The Batesville Store is closed until further notice.Jessica Jaglois of CBS 19 in Charlottesville added: A store employee [said] that the reason behind the shutdown wasn’t a health issue, but a safety issue. He says the store had exceeded their seating capacity. A country store is allowed to have 15 total seats by law, but The Batesville Store has over 40. The employee was frustrated saying that the Health Department hadn’t given them a warning.The problem, as Waldo Jaquith noted, is that Virginia officials classify the Batesville Store as a “country store,” which legally restricts their business to certain government-defined functions. Unfortunately, the store’s owners chose to serve their customers instead of the bureaucrats, and now everyone will pay the price: As you know from yesterday’s email, the state has given us no option except to close The Batesville Store.No doubt Thomas Jefferson, Albemarle County’s most famous former resident, is beaming with pride at how the government he helped to establish has crushed a small business for the greater glory of the state health department. |