The battle being played out over a new street vending ordinance in Los Angeles in many ways reflects the conversation taking place on the national level.

Street vending – everything from fresh fruit to clothes and electronics can be found for sale on sidewalks in the city – is the Wild West of local business. No regulation, no taxation, no obligation. While there is a certain appeal to that freedom, many vendors have come to the conclusion that a little structure might not be a bad thing. Even business interests have decided they stand a better chance of competing for customers and spreading the burdens that come with running brick-and-mortar operations if the rules of the game are defined.

The role of government and the hand it should – or should not – play in commerce will be a subject of discussion over the course of the next year as a pro-business White House begins to shape policy. There might be a temptation to pursue a broad approach to deregulation, but there is risk in going too far.

To be sure, some (many?) regulations are contradictory, onerous, or duplicative. But chaos isn’t good for business either. An unfettered market favors the large, the established, the strong.

Los Angeles is an entrepreneurial middle-market town with a booming startup community. It is a market that benefits from a level playing field. Businesses don’t want to be constrained, but they do like to know the rules of the game.

Whether it’s manufacturing kombucha, hiring drivers for trucks serving the ports, or selling cheap T-shirts on the street, clear guidelines allow participants to compete fairly.

Carol Schatz, chief executive of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, acknowledged as much in her assessment of the guidance the city attorney has been given in regard to drafting a street vending ordinance: “unlimited, unregulated street vending … is simply unacceptable.”

It’s a view that’s in the best interest of L.A. businesses and should be reflected in Washington.