Exeter's increasing signage and decreasing freedom

I propose a new rule of thumb:

Within a political territory, the decrease in the residents' freedom is directly correlated with the increase of government signs. 

So it is in Exeter. As I've noted before, Exeter suffers from the proliferation of signs. The most recent installment of permanent commands from our town rulers lies along Dan "beautify my storefront" Chartrand's new sidewalks. No Parking, No Idling, Reserved, etc. The idling one is interesting. Here is the new one:

 Here is a similar, but older one (by the boat launch behind Stillwell's):

Spot the difference? In the older one, the word "please" is more prominent. It reads almost as a suggestion, but the new one is more explicit in what is verboten. We arrive at a corollary to the rule of thumb:

As the freedom within a political territory decreases, the government signage becomes more hostile.

Now, why do these rules make sense? The answer can be found in Hayek's Road to Serfdom. As government run monopolies (i.e., socialist enterprises) necessarily fail, the democratic rulers are "confronted with the alternative of either assuming dictatorial powers or abandoning his plans." It is always the former. The failure of government intervention perversely justifies more government intervention. ("We just need to raise more taxes and pass more laws.") More intervention means more government signs to control all aspects of our lives.

So, in Exeter, the trend toward more statism and less prosperity is obvious. Only when people begin to understand all the problems with government intervention and learn to respect property rights will the trend be reversed. Until then, be prepared for more of these ugly signs littering the town.