From the PBS show about our Constitution on regulating commerce, here are some details of a Supreme Court case that really muddled things up in how we do, or don’t do business – Wickard vs. Filburn. As detailed in the following video, the Court ruled that a farmer could not grow more wheat than the Government said that he could because, well just watch the video as it’s kind of tough to explain just why.
On the subject of government regulating, or make that trying to regulate commerce, years ago St. Mary’s County passed a sign ordnance that spelled out policies and specifications for businesses to follow regarding their signage. A young man, a Ridge boy as a matter of fact, was hired by the County and tasked with implementing and enforcing this new sign policy. He came into Buzzy’s Country Store and informed Buzzy that the sign in front of the Store needed to be registered with his office and a permit issued for it. Buzzy told him “That sign has been there since before you were born. Now get your little butt out of here and don’t come back.” The young inspector left and never came back.
Years later however, when Buzzy replaced the sign with the one shown below, he did go through the approval process. The original sign inspector had since moved onto another job, but his replacement was content that Buzzy’s was now in compliance.
