I have to pay the city 15.00 bucks a year for my backyard chickens. I only get 6 and no rooster. I have no idea where the money goes or what it gets used for other than the filing clerk having to make me sign some paperwork. I get a "permit" and i've never had an inspector at our near my house. I go along with it because I don't want my neighbors calling me in and then by that account i have to pay a fine for not having the permit. I think an inspection by a chicken expert wouldn't bother me whatsoever....regulations, as long as they're limited and enforced in accordance, are fine....but really, if you're involved with bees or other animals the community therein lies as a great "inspector" in itself. keeping up to date with local farmers' and their pesticides/sprays and keeping in touch with what others encounter is just as beneficial as paying an inspector. i do feel that if the city/county wants to inspect my property/bees/chickens i do feel like it should be in the budget or accounted for with the tax money beforehand and not this slight of hand forced enforcement.
i suggest if you don't want to pay an inspector, then perhaps become more involved with the city council and go to the city legislator/attorney and see what it would take to fight for your right not to pay an inspector. it's not enough to voice an opinion on an on-line forum...if you're as passionate to not pay the fees then go the extra step and fight it.
to quote ron paul:
The other problem is the trust that people blindly put in regulations, and the moral hazard this creates. Too many people trust government regulators so completely that they abdicate their own common sense to these government bureaucrats. They trust that if something violates no law, it must be safe. How many scams have “It’s perfectly legal” as a hypnotic selling point, luring in the gullible?
Many people did not understand the financial house of cards that are derivatives, but since they were legal and promised a great return, people invested. It is much the same in any area rife with government involvement. Many feel that just because their children are getting good grades at a government school, they are getting a good education. After all, they are passing the government-mandated litmus test. But, this does not guarantee educational excellence. Neither is it always the case that a child who does NOT achieve good marks in school is going to be unsuccessful in life.
Is your drinking water safe, just because the government says it is? Is the internet going to magically become safer for your children if the government approves regulations on it? I would caution any parent against believing this would be the case. Nothing should take the place of your own common sense and due diligence.
These principles explain why the free market works so much better than a centrally planned economy. With central planning, everything shifts from one’s own judgment about safety, wisdom and relative benefits of a behavior, to the discretion of government bureaucrats. The question then becomes “what can I get away with,” and there will always be advantages for those who can afford lawyers to find the loopholes. The result then is that bad behavior, that would quickly fail under the free market, is propped up, protected and perpetuated, and sometimes good behavior is actually discouraged.
Regulation can actually benefit big business and corporate greed, while simultaneously killing small businesses that are the backbone of our now faltering economy. This is why I get so upset every time someone claims regulation can resolve the crisis that we are in. Rather, it will only exacerbate it.
