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County Government Shuts Down 7 Year Olds Lemonade Stand - Demands $120 Licensing Fee

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senseamp said:
Are you saying 7 year olds need to be exempt from licensing requirements? Should they be able to open a Dr's office and write prescriptions without a license too?
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That would be so badass, it's unbelievable. 7 year old selling dexedrine to crackheads then republicans totally flip their shit at "big government" trying to shut her down.
 
waggy said:
meh

IF this was in front of her house she would have a right ot bitch. But she was at a fair. If you want a business there get a damn permit. just because she is 7 does not give her the right to get away with something others have to do.

now i do think $120 to sale refreshments is insane.
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Yup, she was at an Event which is very different than on the sidewalk outside her house.

Re $120 to sell refreshment, well that's her fault really(Parents should have thought about this). The Fee is $120, the Vendor(girl)should have a Business Plan that considers the $120 Fee as an Expense and then plan her Product line in light of that.
 
Fern said:
I don't think so.

Here's why:

The County Health Dept needs funds to operate. Where do you get those funds? Well, you can use general funds (in this case likely property taxes) or you have the businesses that use their 'services' fund it. I.e., restaurants.

I prefer it be funded by the restaurants themselves. WTH would I want my money (prop taxes etc) go to restaurants so they run their businesses right?

The Health Dept people have to travel down there and do inspections, very similar to regular restaraunts. The fact you may only open for 1 day is irrelevent. While her booth is less complicated because she sells only lemonade, many booths sell seafood etc and have all the refrigeration, cooking, and dishwashing issues of regular restaurants. I bet the licence is a flat fee, you pay the same whether you're selling pork, seafood or just lemonade.

Now, if any of you are active in your community and do non-profit type work like these 'fairs' you'll immediately understand why the (permanent) restaurants wouldn't find it fair or reasonable that these booth vendors either aren't subject to the same health standards or don't have to pay their fair share towards the health Dept.

So temp food booths need to pay too; they're using the service.

And this is a tiny example of what has been said here before by some of us - regulations cost money and make things more expensive. They can also be barriers to entry in a market. This little girl and her mother just got a Business 101 lesson; they didn't do their homework - at all.

Fern
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I didn't read the article, but suspect a large part of the $120 probably goes for other things as well. Like Maintenance of Fair Grounds and the like.
 
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/multnomah_county_chief_apologi.html

Multnomah County's top elected official apologized today for health inspectors who threatened to fine a 7-year-old for opening a lemonade stand last week at a local arts fair without a license.
"A lemonade stand is a classic iconic American kid thing to do," county Chairman Jeff Cogen said. "I don't want to be in the business of shutting that down."

Cogen said he called Julie Murphy's mom to say he was sorry and that she appreciated the apology.

...

While the county inspectors were doing their job, Cogen said, the rules are meant for professional food service operators.

Inspectors need to use professional judgment, he said. "This isn't something we need to be using our limited resources to crack down on," he said.
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If that little cheating bastard were a 7 year old illegal starving Mexican you assholes would be calling for her head.
 
shira said:
So not only is this corrupt businesspers..., er, . . . businesschild evading the licensing laws, she's also violating truth-in-advertising standards.

"Lemon flavored beverage" is what her poster should say.

Sounds like a case for the FDA and FBI.
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If she added just one single real lemon to a 5-gallon bucket of "lemon flavored beverage" then it could be considered true Lemonade. Not "good" lemonade, but the case could be made that it was "real" lemonade.
 
Moonbeam said:
If that little cheating bastard were a 7 year old illegal starving Mexican you assholes would be calling for her head.
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The law only applies as long as it doesn't touch a string of the heart....

\then it's okay not to follow it...
\\i mean why even bother having any laws at all - everyone do what they want....
 
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Moonbeam said:
If that little cheating bastard were a 7 year old illegal starving Mexican you assholes would be calling for her head.
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If she were an illegal Mexican we'd give her free healthcare, a credit card from Bank of America, and free tuition to her school of choice.
 
UberNeuman said:
The law only applies as long as it doesn't touch a string of the heart....

\then it's okay not to follow it...
\\i mean why even bother having any laws at all - everyone do what they want....
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the law should serve the people's interests.......arbitrary laws are bullshit
 
LumbergTech said:
the law should serve the people's interests.......arbitrary laws are bullshit
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So.... you let one slide....

How about the next person that comes in; they're only selling stuff for 50 cents.....

It's only 50 cents...

let it slide....

hey, here's another - it's only 99 cents - not even a dollar, can't you let that slide?

The vendors selling paid for that privilege to sell - so if you don't want to follow the law, then open the floodgates for everyone to come in....

/but we like the law - except when it tugs at our heart....
//and then... we'll just let it slide.........
 
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Patranus said:
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/portland_lemonade_stand_runs_i.html

lemonade1jpgjpg-0930a77be036a276_large.jpg


Aren't you glad that we have government looking out for us?
Another job destroyed by the government.
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So what is your point?
1. Seven year olds should not have to follow county or state regulations for running a food booth at a county fair?

2. States and or County governments should not have the ability to regulate businesses who sell food?
 
shira said:
So, if I were to try to open a lemonade stand at the art fair, and the authorities required that I first obtain a license, would that upset you? Or do you feel that a business operated by a 7-year-old should receive a special government-provided advantage over a business operated by an adult?
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I think common freaking sense should be used.

Please show me a business operated by an adult that is complaining or concerned about "special government-provided advantage" given to a seven year old child by not shutting her down because she didn't have a permit that I highly doubt she could legally obtain.

I would wager that she can not get a permit due to her being 7 years old so does that mean adult owned businesses are receiving a "special government-provided advantage"?
 
Darwin333 said:
I think common freaking sense should be used.

Please show me a business operated by an adult that is complaining or concerned about "special government-provided advantage" given to a seven year old child by not shutting her down because she didn't have a permit that I highly doubt she could legally obtain.

I would wager that she can not get a permit due to her being 7 years old so does that mean adult owned businesses are receiving a "special government-provided advantage"?
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A parent or guardian of this 7-year-old can obtain a license on her behalf, and the little girl's business would then be operating on a level playing field with all other businesses in that jurisdiction.
 
Siddhartha said:
So what is your point?
1. Seven year olds should not have to follow county or state regulations for running a food booth at a county fair?

2. States and or County governments should not have the ability to regulate businesses who sell food?
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The point is that government is getting too big. Its looking to tax and regulate anything that twitches in order to support Union salaries and pensions.
 
Wouldn't it have been so much easier to let it slide, and just tell the parent to not do it again or pay for the license next time? It sounds like a small neighborhood thing, and they would have been better than causing a scene and generating a bunch of bad PR. :\
 
Hacp said:
The point is that government is getting too big. Its looking to tax and regulate anything that twitches in order to support Union salaries and pensions.
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I believe the department head has said the call was bad judgment and kids are not the intended target.
 
Hacp said:
The point is that government is getting too big. Its looking to tax and regulate anything that twitches in order to support Union salaries and pensions.
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Until there is massive food poisoning incident, then the government is not doing enough to regulate and inspect it.
 
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