Ever heard of the term “Certificate of Need?” It’s a clever regulatory device supposedly intended to prevent “over competition.” Here’s how it works: if you want to start a new business in some localities, local government will require you to get a “Certificate of Need,” which means you must get permission from established businesses. Since established businesses have no interest in giving you that permission, entrepreneurs are shut out. Does that sound like corrupt crony capitalism? It is, and bold crony capitalism at that. The short film Legacy from the Pacific Legal Foundation details the case of Phillip Truesdell, an Ohio ambulance company entrepreneur who wanted to expand his business into bordering Kentucky but was turned down by regulators because entrenched operators (naturally) saw no need for him to compete with them. It’s a pity, because in some parts of the country you often can’t get an ambulance in a timely way, and as a result…people sometimes die.