Goverment has gone too far! War against Big Tamale!

[ouch]

I shot a couple of squirrels a while back and realized that the FDA does not inspect edible wildlife! Oh, the horrors of unregulated consumption of those dirty wild animals! I know I must have been taking my life in my hands, eating their stewed, uninspected corpses. Where is the government when you need them? And what about the fish? Those fish out there in the wild just swim around peeing and crapping and then breathing the very same water, with no government oversight, and poor ignorant innocent people EAT them! I am so mortified!

Seriously, I would think that government, regulations or no regulations, is TOO BIG when it has time to harass a street vendor, unless there are complaints. In the case of food vendors, you get sick, then complain, and the appropriate agency checks out the situation. If there is not a problem, don't make one. If it looks unsanitary, SAY something, but be a good neighbor and tell the vendor first and give him or her a chance to make it right. Whatever happened to common sense? Hassling kids with lemonade stands is not productive work. It is parasitical work that we taxpayers pay for. If that is what someone does for a living, then they should have to go out and get a real job.

Pursuing street vendors for revenue probably costs more than the tax money recovered. But that's okay. Efficiency is irrelevant. "I'm from the government, and I am here to help! I have a job to do and I will do it, collect my civil service salary and retire on my government pension, and not feel bad for never having accomplished anything productive in my life, because I did my job and did it well." That is not to say that every government employee is a useless leech but apparently quite a few are, and many more can be, at times. Sometimes, you just gotta leave people alone. Government interference is not always a good thing.

As always, you make some very valid points. Here comes the but.

Let's say you open McCoy's Irish Tamales on Main Street. By the time your first customer unwraps the first corn husk, you're already in to the government for tens of thousands of dollars in fees. Plan on selling liquor? Good luck. You're hit with fees for everything from an illuminated sign permit, waste disposal, you name it.

On your second day of operation, a dingy truck pulls up in front of your establishment with the following emblazoned on its side-
Ouch's Discount Almost Kosher Tamales of Dubious Provenance.

Is it necessary for me to continue, or do you see where I'm going here?

 

[eastomjac]

if you have ever had food poisoning,you will take care of where you buy prepared food.

 

[Slash McCoy]

As always, you make some very valid points. Here comes the but.

Let's say you open McCoy's Irish Tamales on Main Street. By the time your first customer unwraps the first corn husk, you're already in to the government for tens of thousands of dollars in fees. Plan on selling liquor? Good luck. You're hit with fees for everything from an illuminated sign permit, waste disposal, you name it.

On your second day of operation, a dingy truck pulls up in front of your establishment with the following emblazoned on its side-
Ouch's Discount Almost Kosher Tamales of Dubious Provenance.

Is it necessary for me to continue, or do you see where I'm going here?

Some customers would go for the regulated inspectificated genuine Irish tamales. Some would save a buck and take a chance on yours. I would probably suggest taking your taco truck around to jobsites or Home Depot, where mobile mealie wheelies do a good turn of business, but I would also probably steal your recipe and study it for possible improvements to my own. I might or might not feel threatened by your nearby presence but lots of folks would prefer to dine indoors and be waited on and I would count on them, and you would probably end up taking your grimy roach coach to a more lucrative venue.

I do think there should be different levels of standards for food trucks, pushcarts, and foot mobile vendors. If you are driving a gleaming $100k rig then obviously you are a fatter target for the tax man than the guy on two wobbly bicycle wheels who doesn't even give out napkins. What I'm really saying, is don't waste time and money and good will persecuting the little guy, and have a little common sense. We don't have to microscopically regulate absolutely everything.

By some folks reckoning, straight razors should probably be illegal.

 

[CurtisB81]

If one person pays, why shouldn't there other person pay. Taxes are for doing good, an fine is for doing wrong..That being said, we got pissed at a 3% tax on tea..Now days, paying 35% of your income for taxes is just fine...

 

[Arachnid]

Extreme overreach by the local government. Are they treating kids selling lemonade on the side of the road the same this summer? How about all of the local fruit stands........

 

[CurtisB81]

It might hurt her in the end..Less you pay into SSI, less you get in the later years..Working under the table isn't really a good idea...

Did you know you have to pay tax on illegal drug sales..

 

[oc_in_fw]

Ouch's Discount Almost Kosher Tamales of Dubious Provenance.

They make the best tamales that aren't made by my sister-in-law

 

[Cash_Stronomer]

Do what you need to do, by the darkness of night. Keep your money in a shoe box and never be seen in a new vehicle!

 

[Acmemfg]

What is the proper amount to tip an unlicensed tamale vendor???

 

[imatabor]

So if I give my neighbor $10 to make me a dozen tamales I make her into a criminal? Is it really about public safety or about power and money?
I'm curious what the rules are in other countries?

 

[Legion]

Good analogy. What did you use for the lintel? (Ian will chime in shortly.)

Lol. I watched that episode again only last night. Cowboys.

 

[Lmarkow]

Licenses and health regulations are good things, guys. Sure there are some extreme examples (e.g., kids' lemonade stands), but you don't toss health regulations, which can only be effectively enforced if there are effective licenses in place, because of some fringe examples. If the lady is in the business of selling food to the public, she needs to follow the law. This is easy, and what keeps us safe. Of course this obviously has nothing to do with cooking what you catch or hunt. That's just a red herring. lol

 

[mrb7]

kind of like when people speed, they never get the ones doing 25 over speed limit.Its the ones doing 5 over speed limit, they get..

If you drive fast enough you never have to worry about a cop coming up behind you.

 

[alex2363]

I own my business and pay huge taxes every few months. I run my business accordingly and obey my government procedures and laws...anyone doing business should do the same, no exceptions. Even selling tamales is a business. I'm sure it's generating a profit which is not being taxed.

 

[alex2363]

So if I give my neighbor $10 to make me a dozen tamales I make her into a criminal? Is it really about public safety or about power and money?
I'm curious what the rules are in other countries?

Average cost is 8 to 20 dollars dozen, or 2 to 5 dollrs individually ... they are a profitable food item.

 

[BigJoe]

A lot of people are still hurting in America just trying to make ends meet. I agree with food being sold to be inspected. Take a look in the news you will regularly see restaurants being fined for not meeting the health codes. For public safety it is a good thing we have checks and balances.

The poor woman may or may not have known about the permitting/liscensing requirements and probably does not have the cash to pay the fine.

 

[alex2363]

A lot of people are still hurting in America just trying to make ends meet. I agree with food being sold to be inspected. Take a look in the news you will regularly see restaurants being fined for not meeting the health codes. For public safety it is a good thing we have checks and balances.

The poor woman may or may not have known about the permitting/liscensing requirements and probably does not have the cash to pay the fine.

The courts most likely will give her a break in fines or penalties. ..but I'm sure she knows the basics of food safety and permit policies.

 

[CurtisB81]

I own my business and pay huge taxes every few months. I run my business accordingly and obey my government procedures and laws...anyone doing business should do the same, no exceptions. Even selling tamales is a business. I'm sure it's generating a profit which is not being taxed.

I bet she's getting money from tax payers to.But, crys foul when she was to pay taxes..

 

[bberg100]

I think where she screwed up was posting the tamales for sale on Nextdoor. Those not familiar, it is a facebook type website restricted to local neighborhoods, invitation only, we use it in mine to keep up with each other, find babysitters, arrange community garage sales, etc. Once she posted them for public consumption it became a business and as such requires the normal licensing, taxes, fees, ... Had she just peddled a few to friends and family it probably wouldn't have cost her any issues.

 

[alex2363]

I think where she screwed up was posting the tamales for sale on Nextdoor. Those not familiar, it is a facebook type website restricted to local neighborhoods, invitation only, we use it in mine to keep up with each other, find babysitters, arrange community garage sales, etc. Once she posted them for public consumption it became a business and as such requires the normal licensing, taxes, fees, ... Had she just peddled a few to friends and family it probably wouldn't have cost her any issues.

Seems she knows the concept of marketing, so now she must pay her infractions or sell underground to avoid taxes and permits. It's OK, we the tax payers will take up the lack of her tax responsibility. As miniscule as it may be.