(no subject)

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Inspectors Shut Down Girl's Lemonade Stand

It's hardly unusual to hear small business owners gripe about licensing requirements or complain that heavy-handed regulations are driving them into the red.

So when Multnomah County shut down an enterprise last week for operating without a license, you might just sigh and say, there they go again.

Except this entrepreneur was a 7-year-old named Julie Murphy. Her business was a lemonade stand at the Last Thursday monthly art fair. The government regulation she violated? Failing to get a $120 temporary restaurant license.

Looks like a pretty logical consequence of over zealous regulation and a zero-tolerance mindset to me.

It's nice that the county chairman apologized for the action, but that doesn't really change the fact that the action was perfectly legitimate according to the rules. If there's something that you want to allow, it needs to be made allowable, it shouldn't be an enforcement exception. This reduces the rule of law and makes it that much more uncertain as to whether you will be in violation of the law or not.

Comments

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

bleeding heart conservatives ;)

[kinvore.livejournal.com]

Wow.

[cory-nickolatos.livejournal.com]

She would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling inspectors!

[http://users.livejournal.com/aviation_/]

Well it does sound like she just kind of went to the fair and set up a stand which is different than if this had been her yard
but still totally redic

I feel like this already happened once or twice before and this is a repeat... confirm/deny

confirming myself

[http://users.livejournal.com/aviation_/]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Lemonade-Stand-Busted.html

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

These are the people who will be administering our health care in a few years.

LEAVE JULIE ALONE! PLEEEEASE!!

[squidb0i.livejournal.com]

But seriously, yeah, inspectards definitely overstepped.

Re: LEAVE JULIE ALONE! PLEEEEASE!!

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

They didn't really overstep.

The mother drove her daughter to a fair to sell a product.

It's not like the girl set up a lemonade stand outside her home.

I'm not sure why a lemonade stand with a girl serving and mother overseeing gets special treatment as opposed to a lemonade stand run directly by adults, as opposed to with adult supervision.

[tridus.livejournal.com]

If there's something that you want to allow, it needs to be made allowable, it shouldn't be an enforcement exception. This reduces the rule of law and makes it that much more uncertain as to whether you will be in violation of the law or not.

Don't agree with that at all. It's impossible to come up with every scenario when writing a law. That's what human judgement is for.

When we put people in a position to enforce rules without letting them think (see: mandatory minimums, zero tolerance), we get nonsense. This is a different kind of nonsense, but it's a symptom of the same problem.

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

When I saw this article and read the statute I had to believe that lemonade stands were not within the scope of the law. It's clearly designed for people operating at fairs and carnivals (for the 'temporary' restaurant sections). In addition the fees required for such licenses (about $120) would make any "stand" impossible to operate at a profit.

Instead of wasting time and money trying to ticket kids they should offer workshops through local governments for parents and kids who want to set up a lemonade stand that teach cleanliness, safety, etc.

But that would be encouraging capitalism. :P

What's next, busting kids for babysitting without a nanny license?

[chemchick.livejournal.com]

What's next, busting kids for babysitting without a nanny license?

Fuck yeah. Don't you know the order of progression?

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

It's clearly designed for people operating at fairs and carnivals (for the 'temporary' restaurant sections).

This lemonade stand was operating at a fair/carnival.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

an unfortunate incident, but hardly indicative of all regulation.

[chemchick.livejournal.com]

You're joking, right?

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

No. The inspectors were totally overzealous and out of line, but technically in the right. The problem is the way the law is written. The law needs fixed, relying on the whims of the bureaucrat to not enforce it is a bigger problem.

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

Actually I think they may be chilling out a bit....It seems a few years ago, here in Ca. several kids a month were being suspended for pointing french frys or a stick at another kid and saying bang bang.....granted these were mostly evil 5-8 yr olds and prly deserved it, but it rarely seems to happen any more (at least it doesn't make the news :D)

[futurebird.livejournal.com]

Seriously.

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness we learned a valuable lesson.

If you're a white girl, you can sell products at a location where everyone else has to pay a licensing fee for.

[http://users.livejournal.com/aviation_/]

wait where does race place into this

[mylaptopisevil.livejournal.com]

Ehhh... I don't know if we should have some kind of clause allowing parents to set up lemonade stands on fairgrounds via child proxy.

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

This is the problem with too much bureaucracy. When people figure that out, the world will be a better place.

[rogerdr.livejournal.com]

If you're going to end bureaucracy, first you must kill all of the lawyers.

[rogerdr.livejournal.com]

Mommy is the one in the wrong. The girl was victimized in two ways here. Typically, the press only sees the big bad govt and its apology.

[moonchylde.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Mom could have called and asked if it was okay.

[moonchylde.livejournal.com]

I love that everyone ignores the anarchist in the story using this to further his own agenda.

Food stands at all Portland events are monitored. The mother didn't bother to ASK the ORGANIZERS I notice.

I know WHY everyone is upset. But the fact remains it wasn't just some block party, regardless of what you all think.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

The mother didn't bother to ASK the ORGANIZERS I notice.

It's not mentioned either way. You are assuming that she didn't ask.

[moonchylde.livejournal.com]

Oh fun the mom got them on Fox and the local tire shop gave her a stand to 'run' so now she gets a trip to Disneyland. And mom has learned nothing and taught nothing about planning ahead.

While Fife said she does see the need for some food safety regulation, she thinks the county went too far in trying to control events as unstructured as Last Thursday.

Her opinion wins I guess. It'll be interesting to see if the apology from the county will have others doing similar stands next event.

[mybodymycoffin.livejournal.com]

So, to sum: conservatives are illiterate conspiracy theorists.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Random comment is random.