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January 11, 2005

When Mom Hands You Lemons

When you were a kid and wanted to sell lemonade from your front porch, what did you do? Well, you asked Mom, and she helped you get some supplies together, set 'em up on the front porch, and hang out your shingle. Right?

Today, if you want to sell lemonade (in this case, to raise money for tsunami victims), you ask Mom, and she . . . calls the city government to find out how to get you a license to sell your product.

Then the city says food vending isn't allowed, so you can't get a license.

There is much outrage over this incident, most of it unfairly directed at the city, which said nobody was going to stop the kid from selling lemonade if Mom had just helped her set up shop instead of calling for a license. (Yes, licensing is a bad idea to begin with, but let's be clear in who is at fault here.) What has this mother just taught her child? Simple: The government is the source of everything, and don't you dare try to show any ingenuity and creativity without getting Big Brother's permission first.

Let's hope this incident turns little Carolyn Lipsick into a committed anarchist when she later reflects on the evil of needing--and, worse, desiring--government's imprimatur on her every move. It wouldn't do her mom any harm to rethink her groveling before the State, either.

Posted by Mike Tennant at January 11, 2005 10:50 AM

Comments

Posted by: Charles Hueter at January 13, 2005 03:19 PM

Posted by: alex at November 13, 2005 08:34 PM

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