As the owner of a small business (I'm the only employee), I am constantly bombarded by silly, irrelevant, intrusive, unnecessary and otherwise time-consuming and burdensome government regulations and paperwork. For example, I am required to fill out the U.S. Department of Commerce 2002 Economic Census Classification Form (Form AS-56192) so that the bureaucrats can figure out what sort of business I operate, for the purpose, presumably, of devising new regulations and paperwork to help me or burden me or both.

For whatever reason, somebody already decided that my business is in the broad category of "Services to Buildings and Dwellings". In fact, I develop software and operate a web site, (for which I wrote all the software). The only "Services to Buildings and Dwellings" I perform are for my own house, and even there I hire a contractor if it's anything more complicated than changing a lightbulb. Still, my "RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW" (Title 13, United States Code) so I must complete the form and report just what sort of "Services to Buildings and Dwellings" I perform, in order to avoid (a) soldiers with guns showing up at my house to enforce Title 13 U.S.C. or (b) spending all kinds of uncompensated time trying to get a federal employee to send me the appropriate form for my sort of business. So here are the choices of business classifications I have to work with:

* Landscaping care and maintenance
* Exterminating and pest control services
* Janitorial services
* Other cleaning and maintenance services
* Other kind of business or activity, which includes:
** Employment agencies
** Facilities support management, excluding computer
** Travel agencies
** Detective agencies
** Hazardous waste collection services

I choose: Other kind of business or activity, with the note "software development". That should keep the federal bureaucracy distracted for a while.