Re: "Should government just 'butt out?'" [Letter, Village News, 9/25/14]

Judy Willis challenged me to show where in the Constitution is it stated that starting and operating a business is a privilege granted by the government. It should be obvious that our Constitution isn’t written at that level of detail. Rather, it is embodied in the federal and state codes that devolve from our Constitution.

The federal code is primarily at the level of interstate commerce and international trade. Specific businesses and professions are addressed at the state and local levels. For example, see the voluminous detail required to effect California’s business oversight and regulation: Google “California Business and Professions Code.”

Government permission to start a business is tacit, predicated on the presumption that the applicant has agreed to comply with all regulations set forth at the federal, state, and local government levels. The fact that government can enforce compliance, using measures ranging from fines to permanent suspension of operation, provides prima facie evidence that businesses operate only by permission of government.

John H. Terrell