Politics
Reason Staff | From the January 2024 issue
"In October police arrested Joseph Harris of Bradenton, Florida, for employing two unlicensed telemarketers at his air conditioning business. Calling people without a license is a third-degree felony in Florida, legally equivalent to cocaine possession, battery of a police officer, or burglary of an unoccupied structure. Harris faces up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. The Florida Telemarketing Act requires businesses that solicit sales over the phone to pay an annual fee of $1,500 and an additional $50 for each telemarketer. If salespeople use a script, it must be cleared by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services."
John Ross
"Telemarketer Tax"
"For any constitutionalist, the proper reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court's majority opinion in Bush v. Gore is dismay. In dispensing with the Florida high court's efforts to resolve a confusing........