[Osborn F Enready]

Its almost as sad as this fine example:

If Someone Hands You a Lemon, Get a Permit by Paul Hein

You probably don’t know the name Avigayil Wardein, but you might have heard of the six-year-old girl in Naples, Florida, who was busted for operating a lemonade stand without a permit. Avigayil is that girl. She sells lemonade for 50 cents per plastic cup, and has a jar for tips, to boot. Some disgruntled neighbor reported Avigayil to the authorities for failure to have a permit. City Mayor Bonnie McKenzie was surprised. She hadn’t been aware a permit was required for a lemonade stand. "I’ve been a customer of hers more than once," the mayor said. "That means I’ve aided and abetted. You know what: I’m not one bit sorry. It’s good lemonade." Does that mean that bad lemonade requires a permit, but not good? The mayor may be trying for a humorous note, but the crack about aiding and abetting is true enough, and not funny. Aren’t the laws supposed to be taken seriously, even by kids? There’s nothing new about crackdowns on lemonade stands. I’ve seen reports of it periodically over the years. From time to time a dangerous tribe of toddler tort-feasors tangles with the law – and loses, like Avigayil. Oh, to be sure, the kid is back in business, hawking her brew to thirsty customers at Sixth Street and 11th Avenue. But she didn’t win. As is usual in cases of this sort, the issue of why a person needs a license, or permit, or permission of some officious strangers to do business, is never raised. Avigayil’s stand is in operation again because the Naples city fathers, aware of the widespread bad-press they’d received, and of their opponent’s photogenic smile, albeit minus two front teeth, caved. After a few days shutdown, Avigayil was allowed to re-open by the authorities. She’s selling lemonade again, but only after the city graciously gave its permission. And, in any event, a number of outraged citizens offered to pay the $35 permit fee for her, so one way or another, she’d still be in the lemonade business, but only with the city’s permission, whether the fee was paid or not. Is this age discrimination? Is it selective enforcement of the law? Sure, of course, but so what? No doubt the city fathers hope that the matter will fade away and be forgotten. The public’s short memory is one of those things that makes government possible.

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If Someone Hands You a Lemon, Get a Permit by Paul Hein