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One thing I'd like to see them do is radically simplify the ability for regular people to start regular businesses. One thing we could do is pick some small industry and run experiments with it. An example might be food trucks. There's a lot of regulations around these today. As a thought experiment we could eliminate all sales tax, special licensing, etc. for food truck companies under a certain size (We don't McDonalds food trucks to count). We could see what happened, is there wide spread food poisoning? Are families brought out of the lower class?

It doesn't have to be food trucks exactly, that's just an industry that people like in a business that's relatively simple and imo has low systemic risk.



Concentration of market power and lack of risk capital, not regulation, is the primary inhibitor to normal people starting businesses.


If you could open up a "food truck" on the weekends with a Walmart camp stove and a trip to Costco you'd eliminate the concentration fo market power and lack of risk capital as problems.


That's one way of eliminating a market altogether. Without health checks every food truck becomes suspect (market for lemons dynamic) and people will eventually stop playing food poisoning roulette.

Those that don't will expect a steep discount.

Meanwhile those people who take the risk and it doesn't work out will still have bills and rent to pay.


Food stands in countries without licensing or oversight inform me that this isn't a real concern.


but then if you did so, and the food had issues, where do the customer complain and get compensation from?

How do you prevent over-crowding of a location, and flow-on effect of crowds from said truck?

How do you make sure the waste products are sanely disposed?

And a million other concerns from third parties unrelated to the business, but is affected by its existence?


I don't believe I could provide any response that would persuade you.


What do you mean by risk capital? Legal shark loans?


Spare cash. Money you don't need for feeding, educating, clothing and housing your family.


Proposition H (passed) was designed to do exactly that: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/S-F-s-Propositio...


I don't think you're getting it. I'm talking about radical deregulation and exemption from taxation. Prop H reduces the time to get a permit. I'm talking about not needing a permit. I'm talking about no business taxes, no licenses, no health department inspections, nothing. If you've got a grill you can put it up and sell hot dogs on any private property that gives you permission.


What about all those regular people who do not have the skills, knowledge or risk capital to start a business?


With a couple hundred bucks you could buy a camp stove and some groceries to start a food truck on the weekends.

I'm definitely open to discussions about how to help people incapable of raising a couple hundred bucks and lacking the skills to cook a hot dog. I'm not claiming to attempt to solve every problem.




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