The Volkslauf: A Case Study in the Cost of Intrusive Local Government
ByHenry Hazlitt, author of Economics in One Lesson, noted that much of the appeal of interference with the economy is rooted in the failure to look beyond the intended benefits of a policy to see the costs and unintended consequences of the interference. It’s easy to focus on the direct beneficiaries of legislation, but harder to see indirect harm to other people and institutions.
For example, we’ve heard claims about the benefits of strict local land use regulations. In theory and sometimes in practice, they ensure more aesthetically pleasing, safe, and healthy environments. They also give neighbors and members of the public a voice in influencing how other people make use of their real property. But, as Hazlitt would remind us, there are costs, as well. Our case in point today is the Volkslauf.
The Volkslauf is a unique community event that attracts thousands from all over California to run a 5k or 10k race through an obstacle course. The benefits for the community in Bakersfield, California are extraordinary in that hundreds of teams and groups of co-workers and friends train together year-round, building friendships, staying in shape, and promoting good health in preparation for the event. There are few government programs that promise to be as effective at encouraging healthy active lifestyles as this non-profit volunteer-organized obstacle course race has proven to be… and none that we know of that are this much fun. Nevertheless, in yesterday’s newspaper, the organization behind the race announced that they would be unable to hold the spectacularly successful event this year. Why?
"The permitting process we need is a protracted process. There are many divisions in the county structure that are involved, who say you need to do this or you need to do that. It takes a long time." And time ran out to realistically have the race this year, Pruett said. "We agonized over this," he said. "It took a couple of months to make a final decision. We knew if we were going to do this, we had to begin construction by the beginning of March. "We’re all volunteers. We’d have to work every weekend from the first of March to race day to build a good, solid course to accommodate 3,000-plus participants." Since construction did not begin in March, race organizers postponed the race.
We’re not talking about approving a nuclear power plant. We’re talking about permitting people to begin constructing an obstacle course with old tires and monkey bars. It seems like this should be something that could be greenlit for construction with a building and safety inspection schedule that could accomodate a race day in October, but in California development projects — even one’s that don’t really require substantial grading or permanent foundations — can take years to work their way through local approvals and court challenges.
We understand the rationale behind local land use regulation, but we also sympathize with the hundreds of people who have been training for an event that has been cancelled for lack of speedy permitting. Even for those who feel comfortable overlooking fundamental philosophical concerns about individual rights, policy is still about benefits and costs. While local officials consider and focus on the benefits of thousands of pages of environmental and planning studies provided by local permitting procedures, mudrunners everywhere shouldn’t allow them to forget the indirect costs of intrusive local government, either.
