Should it be a crime for the monks to sell caskets

Should Government Regulate Monopolies?

Duration: (3:45)
User: learnliberty – Added: 2/29/12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NxtGzsGtJc&feature=youtu.be

Free the Monks & Free Enterprise

Duration: (2:39)
User: instituteforjustice – Added: 8/12/10

Under Louisiana law, it is a crime for anyone but a licensed funeral director to sell “funeral merchandise,” which includes caskets. To sell caskets legally, the monks of Saint Joseph Abbey would have to abandon their calling for one full year to apprentice at a licensed funeral home, learn unnecessary skills and take a funeral industry test. They would also have to convert their monastery into a “funeral establishment” by, among other things, installing equipment for embalming human remains.

Monks Can’t Sell Caskets

Duration: (7:58)

The Louisiana Funeral Directors Association’s David Tatman and economist Donald Boudreaux debate the legislation regarding the right to sell caskets in Louisiana on Stossel.

Transit Union Tries to Block Entrepreneur

Duration: (4:18)

John Samuelson of the Transit Workers Union argues dollar van companies such as Hector Ricketts’ undermine mass transit services.

Discussion Questions

Specific to Monks Can’t Sell Caskets

1. Should it be a crime for the monks to sell caskets? Why or why not?

2. Do you think the casket regulations protect families who are buying them? Are these regulations necessary? Why or why not?

3. Should customers be able to choose what kind of casket they want and where to buy it? And if you believe these laws should apply to caskets, should they apply to ALL products? Explain why or why not.

Specific to Transit Union Tries to Block Entrepreneur1. Do you think “Dollar Vans” should be allowed to compete with mass transit?

2. What would be the positive and/or negative effects of having the “Dollar Vans” operating in New York City?

3. Do you think laws that restrict competition in business are ever a good thing? Why or why not?