The World In Which We Live

I read this morning about a lemonade stand, operated by kids raising money for a water park trip, being shut down by the police. Their offense? Not having a business license and "proper permits." This is the second time in the past six months, I've heard of this happening.

I grew up in a world where we drank from garden hoses. We would play in dirt, barely washed our hands before eating and never even thought of using something called hand sanitizer. Now we live in a world where it seems every bathroom has sinks and soap dispensers that don't require touching the controls and, as if washing your hands wasn't good enough, there's hand sanitizer by the door to use on the way out.

Demanding that kids go get a business license to operate a temporary sidewalk lemonade stand is just plain stupid. And what purpose would permits from the health department serve? The kids are buying lemonade mix, adding water (probably from the city supply), and selling it in disposable cups. Oh yeah, making the kids apply for and obtain licenses and permits ensures the city gets some revenue. This is proof again that government is more about process than purpose. More about making sure everyone follows the rules than the rules making sense.

Just some thoughts.