By James Eli Shiffer

I was intrigued to read that U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum of St. Paul, reacting to the indignation swirling around ACORN, has introduced a bill "barring federal dollars to corporations that run afoul of the law," my colleague Kevin Diaz reports. That instantly made me think of how much easier the competition for government money would be, if we eliminate every institution that has been the subject of a government enforcement action. It would take out just about every big name in Minnesota.

Let's start with Thursday's news that Target agreed to pay $600,000 to settle allegations from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that it imported and sold toys contaminated with lead. In the past two years, UnitedHealth's former executives have been fined millions for its stock option scandal by the Securities and Exchange Commission, while the Minnetonka-based health care giant has also paid numerous state fines for failing to pay claims. Last year, medical device maker AGA Medical Corp. of Plymouth agreed to pay a $2 million criminal fine after federal prosecutors said the company bribed doctors in Chinese government hospitals. In 2006, Maplewood-based 3M was fined $1.5 million by the EPA for failing to turn over studies of potentially toxic industrial chemicals. Last year, a Minnesota judge found that Wal-Mart violated state wage and hour laws for its workers 2 million times. Even my own company belongs to this group. In March, the Star Tribune agreed to pay more than $300,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Lest you think it's all about private businesses, nonprofits also get in trouble - I blogged earlier this week about fines assessd to hospitals in three states, including St. Paul-based HealthEast Care System, for spine surgeries that unnecessarily kept patients overnight. Government is even in the business of punishing itself - in July, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system agreed to pay an $18,000 fine to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for failing to train its staff in hazardous waste handling at Hibbing Community College.

The list of violators of labor, safety, environmental, civil rights and other laws goes on and on. Yet what's the surefire way for government to put you out of business? It isn't killing a worker or a customer. It's not paying your taxes.