We're dancing around some much larger issues, issues that go to the nature of the society we want.
Simply put: Do you want to live in a world that celebrates the individual, protects his freedom, rewards initiative, and presumes innocence?
Or,
Do you want to live in a world where 'community' or the 'common good' is valued above all else, where everyone else has a veto in your decisions, where things are allowed only after proven to be proper, and the assumption is that one must get permission first?
Code Nazis love to say it's "all about safety," yet their actions send a different message. My own town now has officials who want the city to become 'proactive' and use the trash collector to seek out revenue sources for code enforcement.
For a town whose permit and inspection activities are extremely minimal, that's quite a sea change.
Others will say 'follow the money,' but even that fails to explain many behaviors. In many cases, it's all about control, as has been well proven in Chicago. Supporters get permits, others get delayed for decades, and even long-established businesses are closed down the moment the political tide shifts. (Research "Lakeshore Gun Club" for a classic example).
The above mentioned gun club case is illustrative, as it was an instance where new "environmental protections" were instituted for the express purpose of eliminating a business whose reason for existence -firearm ownership- was deemed improper by some. Never mind the decades-long existence of the business, or their 100-year lease; a pretense was created.
