A new John Stossel column for Human Events offers a number of examples of government standing in the way of entrepreneurs:

Every day, federal, state and local governments stifle small
businesses to privilege well-connected incumbent companies. It’s a
system of protectionism for influential insiders who don’t want
competition. Every locality has its share of business moguls who are
cozy with politicians. Together, they use the power of government to
keep competition down and prices high.
The Institute for Justice, a
libertarian public-interest law firm, works to free entrepreneurs from
such opportunity-killing regulations. Here are four cases from IJ’s
files.

Case No. 1. The monks at St. Joseph Abbey had to take the state of
Louisiana to federal court to defend their right to make money selling
handmade caskets. That’s right: empty wooden boxes. But as soon as the
monks started selling them, they were shocked to receive a
cease-and-desist order from something called the Louisiana State Board
of Funeral Directors. The funeral directors had managed to get their
state to pass a law decreeing that only “licensed funeral directors” may
sell “funeral merchandise” like caskets. To sell caskets legally, the
monks would have to obtain a funeral director’s license. That required a
year-long apprenticeship, passing a funeral industry test and
converting their monastery into a “funeral establishment” by installing
embalming equipment, among other things.

The state board and the Louisiana Funeral Directors Association —
the profession’s lobbyist — say the law is designed to protect
consumers. But that’s what established businesses always say about
absurd regulations they demand. An unusually candid funeral director
told The Wall Street Journal, “They’re cutting into our profit.” Well, yes, free competition does do that. That’s the point.

Another funeral director said that the law must remain unchanged
because casket-making is a complicated business: “A quarter of America
is oversized. I don’t even know if the monks know how to make an
oversized casket.” Does that even deserve a comment?

Follow the link above for the other three cases.