Reject formula food restrictions

The current proposal to amend additional market regulations in Sisters should be rejected for many reasons. First and foremost, when we petition the government to limit access to a free economy, we are then also surrendering political power.

The notion that Sisters will suffer from a sense of placelessness/facelessness and that large corporations will clench “the invisible hand of the free-market” into an invisible fist for dominating the marketplace is a fallacy pressure groups often use for seeking something through government coercion that they cannot attain through the actions of consumers.

“A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.” This quotation is from one of the most highly influential economists, Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize laureate.

Denying an individual access to a fair and equal opportunity in the free market violates the inalienable right of the Pursuit of Happiness. This is a right that cannot be taken away, suspended, infringed or restricted, not ever, not at any time, not for any purpose whatsoever.

Additionally, the Constitution is a limitation upon the government. It forbids a violation of individual rights and provides a complex system of checks and balances to prevent the will of the people from developing into the tyranny of the majority.

In a free-market economy, the law of supply and demand (the force of competition) is the mechanism that provides consumers with a greater amount of choices at a better value. Every purchase is a vote supporting the success of that business or manufacturer. If you don’t like a particular product or service, then you have the right NOT to buy it. We vote with our wallets.

Therefore, the argument opposing large corporations (pejoratively termed “corporate greed”) is based on a weak philosophical foundation because most of our vehicles, appliances, cell phones, electronics, movies, even our toilet paper are produced by large corporations. In fact, chances are the computer system this newspaper uses to publish our opinions is a product of a large corporation. Large corporations make our lives more efficient and better and are not our enemy.

Sisters has several existing legal rules firmly in place. The Western theme and sign ordinances assure that every business must blend in with the surrounding architecture to preserve the charm and sense of community of the downtown core.

For that reason alone, an additional ordinance prohibiting more than four Formula Food Restaurants would be overly authoritative.

The city’s infrastructure is built for the density that it serves, but pressure groups often rely on faith rather than empirical data when claiming that free enterprise imposes higher costs.

Furthermore, our well being depends on the success of production. Government intervention into the economy delays progress and increases the “hidden costs of free enterprise.”

If the proposed ordinance is accepted, the city could risk eventual litigation, thereby subsequently shifting this cost onto the taxpayers.

Our marketplace should reflect democratic principles by providing choices for those at any given income level. The cost of living has skyrocketed in the cities that have adopted economic restriction policies and most service sector employees can no longer afford to live in those communities where they work.

Americans have the freest form of capitalism, so we have achieved the most and have created the highest standard of living on earth. Individual choice is the essence of freedom. I urge the City Council not to yield to the emotional tactics employed by special interest groups and to base the decision on logic, reason, fact and fairness.

Kevin L. Dumas is a Sisters resident.