Local government ordinance hampers Beatty finances.

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by David Kelly

Another example of overzelous government officials intruding on the people. I hope the kids and team can find funding, if the ordinance cant be overturned.

Is it particularly overzealous for a democratic government to respond to a perceived problem by enacting an ordinance? There's a fair debate to be had about the effectiveness of this ban at combatting theft by scavengers (which appears to be the impetus for the law), but as an imposition on "the people" in general, it's trivial at best. While the ban may have a significant negative impact on Beatty Mfg. in particular, it nevertheless strikes me as somewhat manipulative for the company to tie the fortunes of tne town's prized robotics program to this thoroughly mundane political dispute. If they think that advances the objectives of the company (particularly in the short term, if they don't have much cash on hand) then it's their prerogative to do so. I just hope they're prepared to deal with the longer-term social ramifications of their gamesmanship.