Such were the words shouted at the August 20th “Lemonade Freedom Day,” organized in protest of the recent rise in police crackdowns on children’s lemonade stands throughout the country. This protest highlighted perfectly the fundamental nature of government: physical force.
It is evident the government has declared war on entrepreneurialism. At 1:41 the officer can be heard saying "If they wanna give you something for free they'll give it to you for free. Do not give them any money." Interesting, I thought the purpose of requiring a permit was for public health and safety? So much for that excuse! What's even more shocking was that actual arrests were made of young entrepreneurs. Granted, this was a protest (which you also need a permit for), and on the Capital grounds no less, but crackdowns such as this one have been initiated against children setting up shop on private property as well for none other than vending without a permit.
Once again, the truth behind these permits comes to light at 0:31. When the mother asks if every child who sells lemonade needs a permit, the County Inspector responded with "Kids selling lemonade making $5-10 is a little bit different than kids making hundreds." Let's be clear here, THIS IS NOT ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY; it never has been. This is about the government parasitically targeting successful entrepreneurs.
The police are clearly acting immorally by initiating force against these American citizens, which is a clear violation of their individual rights. As Ayn Rand pointed out, “[T]he right to property is a right to action.... It is the right to gain, to keep, to use and to dispose of material values.” This sort of police action is an obvious violation of that right.
Now, another reason given in support of these crackdowns is that they are meant to create a “level playing-field” for all businessmen. I have often heard entrepreneurs make statements such as ‘I need to get a permit to sell my products so why do these lemonade stands get a pass? This gives them an unfair competitive advantage!’ The real question businessmen ought to ask is, “Why do I need permission from a bunch of bureaucrats in order to make a living?” The solution to this “level playing-field” argument is to get rid of these ridiculous permits altogether so that all men and women are free to engage in commerce. The people who suffer the most from these ridiculous and egregious rules are the ambitious poor, who would otherwise be able to rise up out of their poverty if not for the barriers and impediments created by the government.
So, what about the people who are hurt by “rouge” businessmen who sell products that cause harm to others? As was stated in the first video, “No victim, no crime!” Until and unless a violation of rights occurs by any citizen, the government simply has no role in the economy. This country’s system of laws are supposed to be based on the maxim that every individual is “innocent until proven guilty.” It is a corollary of freedom itself. Saddling businessmen with regulations, permits, and mandates turns that very maxim around to make it “guilty until proven innocent.”
Forget this notion of a Banana Republic, America has become a “Lemon Nation,” that is, a nation broken by laws that no longer work for the people, but work against them. As the mother in the second video exclaimed, “The message to kids is there’s no American Dream.” (That is, unless of course you get permission from the government.)
The police are clearly acting immorally by initiating force against these American citizens, which is a clear violation of their individual rights. As Ayn Rand pointed out, “[T]he right to property is a right to action.... It is the right to gain, to keep, to use and to dispose of material values.” This sort of police action is an obvious violation of that right.
Now, another reason given in support of these crackdowns is that they are meant to create a “level playing-field” for all businessmen. I have often heard entrepreneurs make statements such as ‘I need to get a permit to sell my products so why do these lemonade stands get a pass? This gives them an unfair competitive advantage!’ The real question businessmen ought to ask is, “Why do I need permission from a bunch of bureaucrats in order to make a living?” The solution to this “level playing-field” argument is to get rid of these ridiculous permits altogether so that all men and women are free to engage in commerce. The people who suffer the most from these ridiculous and egregious rules are the ambitious poor, who would otherwise be able to rise up out of their poverty if not for the barriers and impediments created by the government.
So, what about the people who are hurt by “rouge” businessmen who sell products that cause harm to others? As was stated in the first video, “No victim, no crime!” Until and unless a violation of rights occurs by any citizen, the government simply has no role in the economy. This country’s system of laws are supposed to be based on the maxim that every individual is “innocent until proven guilty.” It is a corollary of freedom itself. Saddling businessmen with regulations, permits, and mandates turns that very maxim around to make it “guilty until proven innocent.”
Forget this notion of a Banana Republic, America has become a “Lemon Nation,” that is, a nation broken by laws that no longer work for the people, but work against them. As the mother in the second video exclaimed, “The message to kids is there’s no American Dream.” (That is, unless of course you get permission from the government.)
