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Teleforum: Breaking the Law? Let's Protect Home-Based Businesses

May 19, 2020

Coronavirus is forcing Americans to work from home. But in many cities, running a business from your home is a crime. It’s just another example of government shutting down our freedoms — but there’s something we can do about it.

In a special teleforum, Goldwater Institute President and CEO Victor Riches and Executive Vice President Christina Sandefur discussed how cities are putting people out of business and how the Goldwater Institute is fighting to protect the American Dream. Watch the teleforum below.

Over the past couple of decades, technological advances have afforded entrepreneurs unprecedented opportunities to start businesses from their homes, allowing them to save money, maintain a flexible schedule, and realize their dreams of self-employment. But as Americans grapple with the coronavirus crisis, the ability to earn a living from home has taken on a new significance.

Unfortunately, scores of outmoded zoning, licensing, and permitting requirements are impeding people’s ability to work from home. Some cities even make operating a home-based business a crime—punishable by stiff financial penalties and even jail time—simply because the business is run from a home instead of an office. With many businesses shuttering indefinitely as the country battles COVID-19, it’s unthinkable that governments would stand in the way of people finding innovative ways to earn a living and serve their community’s needs.

Learn more about home-based businesses and how we can protect them here.

 

 

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