The game is rigged

This fracas of the scooters is the latest “enterprise eruption” of people claiming their right to earn a living by offering goods and services. Against this perennial problem, Oklahoma City marshals an army of bureaucrats ready to stamp out such outbreaks by the unprivileged. Connections to downtown power brokers? You’re fine. Women baking cakes at home to sell to neighbors? Shut them down! Sports franchise? How much you want? Tabletop shops? Not in this city! Streetcar to nowhere? Belly up to the bar, boys! Decent bus system? Wait your turn.

The results of this privileged rent seeking are evident. Eighty-three percent of the students in our public schools are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches. Hundreds of thousands don’t have access to decent medical care because they are too poor for insurance. Financial desperation is a leading driver of abortion decisions among low-income families. The deteriorating economic circumstances of so many people are a devastating critique of the incompetence and corruption of those ruling this city and state.

None of this is an accident of fate. We don’t have economic opportunity and justice for all because that’s the way

our system is designed to work. Those who profit from structurally excluding people from the market constantly manipulate the rules to suppress wages and limit opportunities. These machinations prevent the market from properly providing economic opportunity and justice for all. When it comes to access to economic participation in Oklahoma, privileged access to politicians often trumps entrepreneurial ability.

Bob Waldrop, Oklahoma City