The other thing this reminds me of is The Aviator. It's always fascinating because you essentially see a guy build an empire, and help build an important industry, largely through lack of regulations.
I'm a bit confused about why you and others* put this as the product of United States regulation-- what we're seeing here is the tyranny of local government, exactly the thing that those who oppose national regulation would like to see in charge.
It seems very dangerous to mix up the broader inter-state health and commerce regulation for which the Federal government is responsible with this kind of admittedly oppressive state and local regulation.
*Realizing you don't necessarily speak for the article you linked, of course.
I can't speak for everyone, but I believe in both decentralization (as much as possible, but not more) and limited regulation because of the same core belief: power corrupts. I'm not sure what a systemic solution to local tyranny would look like though.
The other thing this reminds me of is The Aviator. It's always fascinating because you essentially see a guy build an empire, and help build an important industry, largely through lack of regulations.