Julie Murphy is obviously a dangerous criminal. What else would you call a 7-year-old girl who does something as dangerous and illegal as operating a lemonade stand without getting a $120 temporary restaurant license? Fortunately, the health and safety of the people of Multnomah County were protected when an alert bureaucrat shut down her lemonade trafficking operation.
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 in Northeast Portland. The government regulation she violated? Failing to get a $120 temporary restaurant license. Turns out that kids’ lemonade stands — those constants of summertime — are supposed to get a permit in Oregon… “I understand the reason behind what they’re doing and it’s a neighborhood event, and they’re trying to generate revenue,” said Jon Kawaguchi, environmental health supervisor for the Multnomah County Health Department. “But we still need to put the public’s health first.” …After 20 minutes, a “lady with a clipboard” came over and asked for their license. When Fife explained they didn’t have one, the woman told them they would need to leave or possibly face a $500 fine. Surprised, Fife started to pack up. The people staffing the booths next to them encouraged the two to stay, telling them the inspectors had no right to kick them out of the neighborhood gathering. They also suggested that they give away the lemonade and accept donations instead and one of them made an announcement to the crowd to support the lemonade stand. That’s when business really picked up — and two inspectors came back, Fife said. Julie started crying, while her mother packed up and others confronted the inspectors. “It was a very big scene,” Fife said.
[…] series, which features examples of bureaucratic and political stupidity (see here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) that will make you laugh, cry, […]
[…] series, which features examples of bureaucratic and political stupidity (see here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) that will make you laugh, cry, […]
Love watching Sun !
[…] P.P.S. Business permits at the local level also are akin to occupational licenses. Governments are making people pay to become entrepreneurs. Which oftentimes translates into painful lessons for young people about government greed. […]
[…] P.P.S. Business permits at the local level also are akin to occupational licenses. Governments are making people pay to become entrepreneurs. Which oftentimes translates into painful lessons for young people about government greed. […]
[…] third and final example. It seems lemonade cops don’t just exist in California, Georgia, and Oregon, they also patrol the mean streets of […]
[…] so, I imagine Daniela Earnest and Julie Murphy can offer the mayor some useful […]
[…] they do lots of small things that are bad, such as shutting down children’s lemonade stands, arresting people for saving rafters from drowning, fining people for rescuing children from savage […]
[…] they do lots of small things that are bad, such as shutting down children’s lemonade stands, arresting people for saving rafters from drowning, fining people for rescuing children from savage […]
[…] they do lots of small things that are bad, such as shutting down children’s lemonade stands, arresting people for saving rafters from drowning, fining people for rescuing children from savage […]
[…] they do lots of small things that are bad, such as shutting down children’s lemonade stands, arresting people for saving rafters from drowning, fining people for rescuing children from savage […]
[…] Let’s close with a truly inane bit of government from Canada, where bureaucrats stopped a couple of kids from operating an unlicensed – gasp! – lemonade stand (the same thing happens in California, Georgia, and Oregon). […]
[…] But I still think America wins the prize for teaching kids bad lessons. After all, local government officials have heroically thwarted rogue operators of unregulated and unlicensed lemonade stands, in California, Georgia, and Oregon! […]
[…] But I still think America wins the prize for teaching kids bad lessons. After all, local government officials have heroically thwarted rogue operators of unregulated and unlicensed lemonade stands, in California, Georgia, and Oregon! […]
[…] series, which features examples of bureaucratic and political stupidity (see here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) that will make you laugh, cry, […]
[…] not sure how to categorize this story. Is is a great moment in local law enforcement, like when cops bust little girls with lemonade stands, or they arrest young men for the horrible crime of saving people from […]
[…] children’s lemonade stands. Why? Because bureaucrats (like ones in California, Georgia, and Oregon) won’t be prowling the streets to shut them […]
[…] in the Great-Moments-in-Local-Government series. Previous versions can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and […]
[…] series, which features examples of bureaucratic and political stupidity (see here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) that will make you laugh, cry, […]
[…] series, which features examples of bureaucratic and political stupidity (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) that will make you laugh, cry, yell, or […]
[…] is he right about local government? Well, read this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this and decide for […]
[…] you like high blood pressure, there are more examples here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and […]
[…] local governments have been guilty of this type of petty harassment, but what’s remarkable about the Midway story is that the Barney-Fife-wannabee police chief […]