This morning I received an interesting email from Christina Walsh at the Institute for Justice, a non-profit law firm interested in protecting the rights of entrepreneurs and helping communities of vendors like you organize to fight laws that impede your ability to earn an honest living. She’s interested to know what the Denver scene is like for street food vendors. She’s voicing your sentiments, I’m sure, when she writes, “Street vendors shouldn’t have to obtain the government’s permission or pay hefty fees to earn an honest living.” Below is the full text of her email, reprinted with permission. It includes her contact information, too. I know a few of you have expressed some concerns about local laws and high barriers to entry when it comes to permissions, etc. I also get the feeling that our street food scene would benefit from some sort of organization to coordinate efforts like this. Maybe this will plant the seed for that. Who knows. Anyway, Christina’s listening, y’all. Are there laws in this town that are getting you down? Let us know in the comments, or contact Christina directly.
My organization, the Institute for Justice, is a non-profit, public interest law firm dedicated to fighting for every American’s right to earn an honest living. We challenge arbitrary and protectionist laws across the country that prevent people from working in the field of their choice. As IJ’s director of activism and coalitions, I travel the country training and organizing communities and entrepreneurs to fight unjust laws at the grassroots.
Entrepreneurs like street vendors are the backbone of the American economy. When government respects their right to earn an honest living, everyone is better off—entrepreneurs, consumers, and the community. Too often, however, government officials are more concerned about protecting established interests than they are the rights of hard-working small business owners. At the behest of powerful business interests, they pass laws designed to thwart competition and consolidate power in the hands of a few.
Street vendors shouldn’t have to obtain the government’s
permission or pay hefty fees to earn an honest living. Often, the requirements officials impose on vendors have nothing to do with protecting the public health and safety, and everything to do with benefiting a few politically-favored interests. Across the country, we’ve seen government officials pass anti-competitive laws that hurt the rights of entrepreneurs like vendors in favor of established brick-and-mortar businesses. These laws include restrictions on how far away a food vendor must be from a restaurant; prohibitions on vending around stadiums, which protects the vendors inside the stadium from competition; and arbitrary bans on vending different types of items (for example, in Chicago, it’s illegal to peddle flowers!).In researching vending laws across the country, I came across your terrific website, and I wanted to reach out to you to see if vendors in Denver are burdened with any harmful, anti-competitive laws.
The economic liberty of street vendors should not be at the mercy of government officials and politically-connected competitors. Please do contact me if you know of any vendors who are struggling with the kind of laws I’ve discussed that are hurting their right to earn an
honest living. I can be reached at (703) 682-9320 or cwalsh AT ij.org.
Thank you so much for your time!