The war against home-based businesses

Go into any city or suburb and you'll find a zoning war going on against home-based businesses. The idea seems very sensible to most suburbanites. Businesses should be in the zoned business district instead of creating traffic in our child filled neighborhoods. The sensibility is based on the assumption that our residential homes are alcoves away from the bustle of the business world. What they really do is create unnecessary barriers for a new family business. In most towns and small cities a majority of all the prime retail space are owned by a few real estate capitalists who routinely up the rent when a business becomes successful. I found it was the same in Yellow Springs, Ohio as Ashland, Wisconsin.

What can distributists do? Next time you hear about changes in the local home-based business laws (which are always attempts to make them more restrictive) go and stick up for them. If you don't own your own home-based business you'll be the first person whose ever gone to the council meeting who doesn't have a vested interest in favor of these businesses.