George McGovern, the Democratic Party's 1972 presidential nominee, was a liberal icon. During many years in political office, including as a U.S. senator from South Dakota, McGovern successfully championed loads of regulations, taxes, and mandates in the name of the public good. But as a businessman, he was held back to the point of failure by the same sorts of burdens he had once earnestly promoted to achieve lofty goals.

For today's most overzealous politicians, McGovern's story is worth retelling.

In 1988, seven years after leaving the Senate, McGovern took over the lease of the Stratford Inn in Connecticut. For the first time, this former politician experienced what it meant to operate a business while obeying government dictates and shouldering business taxes designed by people with little firsthand experience in the marketplace. In the end, the inn failed, leaving McGovern with many observations about the disconnect between politicians' dreams and business owners' realities.

In a 1992 Wall Street Journal op-ed titled "A Politician's Dream Is a Businessman's Nightmare," McGovern recounted how, as a senator, he didn't realize just how costly regulatory compliance is. He was unaware of how well-intentioned regulations often produce bad outcomes, how taxes dampen investment, and how mandates make it harder to innovate or survive, especially during recessions.