So this video went viral a few days ago as harkening back to a different time of absurdity, but it is emblematic of problems with how government operates today in Boston and elsewhere 1/x

While there might not be a sweeping craze of arcade games in every corner store in Boston anymore, any sort of entertainment from a game console to TV to jukebox still requires permitting because of the system the people in that video set up 2/x

Requiring licenses and permits for these mundane issues seems like a minor nuisance, but it is how government ties the hands of small businesses for reasons long gone as they try to make it in a tough business climate. These permits require time, paperwork, money, etc 3/x

Recognizing this, Mayor @marty_walsh sought to remove some of these burdensome regulations from previous fun-hating generations in that video. But...the law doesn’t even give local government the ability to re-write its own rules 4/x

So, the very first bill in Mayor Walsh’s 2015-2016 legislative agenda called for local authority to be able to eliminate the video game console license from that video as well as for other things like pool tables and the regal-sounding “common victualler license” for cafes 5/x

However, the state legislature rarely takes action on small bills ceding power to local govt, even though they would be really helpful to small businesses! The inaction of #mapoli in allowing flexibility within local govt is a tacit endorsement of the officials in the video 6/x

So the legislature did not allow that bill from @marty_walsh’s legislative agenda to come forward for a vote in 2015-2016. And business owners (struggling now more than ever) must still come to city hall and get permits and have inspections for arcade games 7/x

So next time you’re at a ribbon cutting for a small business and your state representative or senator shows up, I suggest asking: “why do they still want Boston to require licenses for arcade games?” 8/8