Enacting useless regulations in order to force the transfer of wealth from rich to poor

There’s a famous story about Milton Friedman’s response when confronted with make-work projects:

While traveling by car during one of his many overseas travels, Professor Milton Friedman spotted scores of road builders moving earth with shovels instead of modern machinery. When he asked why powerful equipment wasn’t used instead of so many laborers, his host told him it was to keep employment high in the construction industry. If they used tractors or modern road building equipment, fewer people would have jobs was his host’s logic

Then instead of shovels, why don’t you give them spoons and create even more jobs?” Friedman inquired.

We all know that government’s do this to swell the job rolls.  But what happens when governments create regulations that force private citizens to create make-work?  Zombie explains that it’s just socialist redistribution in a different guise.