Girls fined $50 for opening a lemonade stand
- Thread starter mretzloff
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Funny but sad...
For the garage sale, depends where you are but where my parents are, they need to have a $25 license to do a 2 days garage sale...
For the garage sale, depends where you are but where my parents are, they need to have a $25 license to do a 2 days garage sale...
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- #3
This type of thing is because the public demands that government officials treat everyone the same. It interferes with the application of common sense to such situations.
I am sure the officers/inspectors who took the action were not happy to do so. There are typically extenuating circumstances in these cases, but they don't make for good news stories.
For example, lets say that there are numerous illegal food vendors in the area. The local officials respond by doing more enforcement in the area; an action that is typically applauded by the public. Suddenly the family shows up with their lemonade stand. How should regulators respond? Let the family slide? Pretend not to notice? Enforce codes just like they do for other vendors? Such are the ethical dilemmas health inspectors and public officials face all the time.
I am sure the officers/inspectors who took the action were not happy to do so. There are typically extenuating circumstances in these cases, but they don't make for good news stories.
For example, lets say that there are numerous illegal food vendors in the area. The local officials respond by doing more enforcement in the area; an action that is typically applauded by the public. Suddenly the family shows up with their lemonade stand. How should regulators respond? Let the family slide? Pretend not to notice? Enforce codes just like they do for other vendors? Such are the ethical dilemmas health inspectors and public officials face all the time.
Jeez. They could have just given them a warning and sent them on their way. It was at their discretion, I'm sure.
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- #6
+1
The reason we have police officers that are human, rather than robots or machines, is so that common sense may be applied. I think that crimes, wrongdoings, etc. can be very different given the situation.
I have to agree with the Barbarian... it's unfortunate that a little girl got fined, but her parents should have exercised due diligence to determine whether the permits or licenses were required. There's a civics lesson here and it could have gone a lot differently.
These regulations are taking all the fun out of life. On the other hand, where does it stop when you permit the selling of lemonade in public parks? What if a few others saw the potential and did the same? There was a Simpsons episode on this 
Btw, they say Singapore is a fine city but this takes the biscuit...
Btw, they say Singapore is a fine city but this takes the biscuit...
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Little girl selling lemonade on her front lawn? No problem.
Little girl selling lemonade on a city park? Thats a completely different story. And while the park security people should have simply told her to go home, rather than "righting" her a ticket, they have a job to do.
People whine and moan about permits - but things would get pretty chaotic without them. At the very least, they do ensure basic standards of food safety and hygiene are adhered to. And moreover, while we want some food vendors on our streets and parks - we don't want the city clogged with them.
Speaking of which: Did you see the Slate story about the hot-dog vendor outside the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art? His monthly rent for two small stands: $53,558.
Little girl selling lemonade on a city park? Thats a completely different story. And while the park security people should have simply told her to go home, rather than "righting" her a ticket, they have a job to do.
People whine and moan about permits - but things would get pretty chaotic without them. At the very least, they do ensure basic standards of food safety and hygiene are adhered to. And moreover, while we want some food vendors on our streets and parks - we don't want the city clogged with them.
Speaking of which: Did you see the Slate story about the hot-dog vendor outside the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art? His monthly rent for two small stands: $53,558.
Yes, the park is the key to the story. There are also likely people who are permitted to vendor drinks in the park, who make a living doing so. If some kid can just come in and sell lemonade at a loss to learn about earning money, it could undercut legitimate business.
I think that the members of B&B should offer to pay the little girl's fine.
Common sense did in fact prevail, as the article indicates:
"A spokesperson for the Parks Department says the agents showed poor judgment and that the ticket will be dismissed."
"A spokesperson for the Parks Department says the agents showed poor judgment and that the ticket will be dismissed."
Man, that is really over the top. I'm surprised Clementine was chastised for not withholding sales tax!
OK...first I'm gonna head over to the park and buy a couple of glasses of lemonade from her, and then I'm gonna walk across and down to MOMA and curse out the hot dog vendors who are obviously raking in some serious dough.
How craptacular. The person who wrote the ticket should be ashamed. But tax receipts are down, so expect more of the same.
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