Six Washington, DC-area youngsters were fined $500 recently for selling lemonade without a permit.
This time-honored endeavor of entrepreneurial youngsters everywhere was nixed in Montgomery County, Maryland, where six kids opened up their stand, hoping to sell to people attending the U.S. Open golf tournament at the Congressional Country Club there.
As a county inspector ticketed the stand, a local television station captured the event on videotape. Local officials said permit requirements are there to protect public safety. “It wasn’t that we were the big hand of county government trying to come down and squash anything. …”
By the end of opening day, though, public and media pressure forced the officials to revoke their ticket. A family friend said the young people learned an important lesson. “When something’s right, you stand up for your beliefs. That’s what America’s about. It’s about free enterprise. It’s about taking an idea, making it happen, and making it successful.”
Isabella, the 13-year-old tasked with supervising the younger children selling the lemonade, learned a lesson as well. “I just think the whole thing was kind of insane that they made such a big deal about a small problem,” she said. “In the first place, I don’t know how a 10-year-old could get a permit.” Welcome to the Nanny State, Isabella.
Source: “$500 ticket issued for illegal lemonade stand,” Daily Caller, June 18, 2011
Maureen Martin, a former legal fellow at The Heartland Institute, passed away on February 5, 2013.
