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Comment by byerley | Hacker News Reader

I mostly meant anti-regulation.

I'm not sure we need strict laws regarding parking, public drinking, loosies, ect. Let alone aggressive enforcement.

I think parts of NYC are a good example of how enforcement can cause a more negative environment than the original activity.

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If you have ever been to NYC you would know that if the parking regulations were not enforced so zealously the city would be a mess. The only reason why $40 parking garages are full is that you know if you park illegally on the streets of Manhattan, your car is getting ticketed, and likely towed. Surely it makes NYC a ton of revenue but it is the only way to make things work. I agree with you on the other points.

Every time I get annoyed by how religiously parking regulations are followed in the UK(and they are anal about it to the extreme), I remember how it works in the country I come from. Try parking in Krakow or Warsaw - very little regulation, and people park everywhere, on sidewalks, on the grass, on pedestrian crossings...they would park on top of each other if they could. Parking regulations are a good thing.

Libertarians should support aggressive parking enforcement. It's a clear correction of a substantial externality.

Of course, an even more libertarian approach would be to simply sell or lease the parking spaces to private entities and let them set whatever prices and rules they want for the use of their real estate, perhaps including making deals with local merchants to subsidize market rates during business hours.

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