The Trouble with "Public Accommodation"

[ajax]

Excellent article
https://mises.org/blog/trouble-public-accommodation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Discussed on the Tom Woods Show
http://tomwoods.com/podcast/ep-681-publ ... y-advance/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[gkearney]

While I can see his argument there is one group that, should we eliminate the idea of public accommodation, would never be served. The disabled, in particular mobility impaired are too small a group to develop the a self contained economy he speaks of. Further their small numbers would mean that ignoring their accessibility needs in business could be done with little or no fear of either loss of business or competition. His model breaks down when the group becomes small.

[ajax]

That's a good question.

He touched on that a bit here a year ago:
https://mises.org/blog/25-years-america ... lities-act" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It seems to me that most private persons will strive to accommodate the best they can without the need for government coercion.

We are human after all, with impulses of human compassion. That coupled with an incentive to serve customers can lead to all sorts of private solutions, rather than an over-arching federal mandate, which may have unintended consequences:
https://mises.org/library/doomed-special-rights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think we ought to do the best we can in our communities to solve problems, rather than look to Washington.

[Rose Garden]

I agree that we should do the best we can in our communities. I think that it's a sign that we haven't done so that we have Washington stepping in.

The best people I know struggle to balance compassion with the need to make money. People will demonstrate completely different characteristics in their business practices than they do in their personal lives because of their focus on making money in that sphere. The problem is in the way we are taught about money and life in general. If we wiped away all the laws, I do believe there would be people overlooked. But even so, I don't believe the laws actually fix the problem. More problems just crop up and more laws are made to fix them. People need to find a fundamentally different way of dealing with things on every sphere if we want to see a real difference in this area.

[ajax]

It seems to lead to all types of absurdities:

Do Drive-Thrus Discriminate Against Non-Drivers?
https://mises.org/blog/do-drive-thrus-d ... on-drivers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Serragon]

Thanks for posting this Ajax.

It is a dangerous path we trod. Although many forging the path have the best of intentions and are good folks at heart.

We are moving farther and farther from individual rights and more towards collective rights. The faction you belong to is what determines your value, not your individual qualities.

This idea of public accommodation is just another step in getting us to abandon those things that make us independently free.. in this case private property and free association.

Once it has been established in the minds of enough people that the "common good" is more important than individual liberty, we will be just like every other people/government in the world, with our rights/privileges doled out by the government to the highest bidder or most favored faction.

[Rose Garden]

We're already there, Serragon, if you ask me.