OPINION — The right to earn a living may be the most vital and neglected constitutional freedom.
Although America’s founders regarded this right as absolutely critical (they called it “the pursuit of happiness”), and although most Americans today view it as central to our society (they call it “the American Dream”), courts have tended to ignore or downplay the importance of economic liberty, and for decades, have barely regarded it as a right at all.
Fortunately, a case now pending in the Arizona Supreme Court may very well begin to fix this situation and restore long-neglected legal protections for hardworking entrepreneurs.