Saturday, May 28, 2011

Government Regulation of Tree Pruning

One of the ways government overreaches through regulation is by licensing activities that really don't need licensing. Washington State recently created a license for interior decorators. Wow. I can sleep at night.

In Charlotte NC apparently you must get permission from the city to prune trees on your own property. Here is a link to an article that describes this requirement.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/28/2333197/church-fined-for-improper-tree.html

The line that gives it away for me is this:

"The state Division of Forestry recommends that anyone trimming trees should be certified by the National Horticulture Board . . ."

The state wants to prevent people from helping themselves. Anything not prohibited is mandatory. Want to defend yourself from an attack by muggers? Sorry, you're not qualified. You must call the police and wait for them. Otherwise you might violate the rights of the mugger out of your ignorance of the law. Want to pack a lunch for your kid at school? Sorry, you aren't a nutritionist. You might put in chocolate milk, a known fattening agent and carcinogen. You must have your child only eat the perfect meal provided by the school.

More government, more government employees, more regulators, less freedom. A license to prune a tree on your own property, indeed.