In recent years, Texas cities (as well as those across the nation) have embarked on a campaign of “local control.” Companies like Uber and Airbnb have upset the traditional regulatory environment. Adding to the mix are energetic citizens calling for bans on plastic bags, regulations on trees, and protection for historic buildings. Local governments are responding with a plethora of laws controlling virtually every imaginable activity.
Some state governments, such as Texas, have responded by trying to reign in the local tyrannies. They have passed bills, or attempted to do so, that limit what local governments can regulate. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, it is a piece meal approach that is doomed to failure.
The advocates of local control claim that the citizens of a community should be able to enact laws that reflect their values. In principle, this is the same argument that Texas and other states use when they oppose federal laws and regulations–the citizens of the state should be free to choose what laws they will be governed under. In other words, Texas claims that Texans should be free of federal interference. The advocates of local control claim that San Antonians, Houstonians, and the residents of other cities should be free of state interference.
Despite their apparent disputes, the various levels of government are in agreement–government should be in control of the lives of individuals. They only disagree on which government entity should be in control. State governments fight the federal government, and local governments fight the state governments. And they are fighting over control of the individual.
What could be more “local” than an individual’s control over his own life? And that means freedom from the arbitrary constraints of government.
Government controls, whether federal, state, or local, restrict an individual’s freedom to act as he deems best. It doesn’t matter who passes the law telling him how he can and cannot use his property. He can’t use it as he chooses.
If our neighbors can dictate how we live our lives, then we are no more free than if distant bureaucrats can dictate how we live our lives. The distance from our home is not the issue. The freedom to live as we choose is.