Children fined $500 for operating a lemonade stand
 

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/06/...6201308380400/

The parents of children who set up a lemonade stand outside the U.S. Open in Maryland said an inspector shut down the stand and fined them $500.

Carrie Marriott said she and the parents of another child operating the stand in Bethesda were fined for allegedly ignoring warnings to shut down the stand before the county inspector forced them to shut it down, WUSA-TV, Washington, reported Friday.

"This gentleman from the county is now telling us because we don't have a vendors license, the kids won't be allowed to sell their lemonade," Carrie Marriott said.

She said the children were attempting to raise money for a pediatric cancer charity.

Well I sympathize and don?t sympathize with them as the stand was not in the normal run of the mill location outside their house, they did take advantage of the U.S. Open and open up outside a well-known event which does have sponsors. I guess if they bothered to get a permit it would not have happened. And the children were not fined the parents were. :2 cents:

What does the fact that the US Open has sponsors have to do with the fact that the government fined those people because they didn't first pay the government for a license?

pretty industrial kids.. huge lemonade stand right by the US open, and it all goes to charity!

damn, this is a bit crazy tho not surprising...think I was just drawn to this post since I was recruited to help set up a lemonade stand for my daughter this past weekend.

I agree that setting up outside an event like that, an extensively sponsored event (of course try to find one these days that isn't) is taking advantage - at the same time I do get stopped all the time by kids selling chocolate bars, etc in front of the home depot or any other large stores/malls...and at a mall, stores pay rent to sell their products there...not unlike what say a sponsor would pay at an event like the US open...

it all seems like shades of grey, someone being a real hard-ass, flexing whatever little bit of authority they have..I do know that as a parent if an organizer at an event like that asked us to stop, I would - question is, what lesson has this taught the kids involved?

That's pretty lame, but if they indeed ignored multiple warnings to leave, its hard to feel sympathetic.

They were taking the piss setting up outside an event. Fine serves them right for ignoring the warning to leave.

It sucks that that happened but if you are warned that you can't do something and you still continue to do it you have to learn there are consequences to pay. Good lesson for the kids. Next time get the paperwork in order ;)

Rules are set in place for a reason - if we bend the rules for one person you have to for everyone else.

At the end of the day the person who shut them down and fined them did the job they are paid to do. I'm sure there are two sides to the story and the truth lies in the middle.

IMO what more than likely happened was the parent was wanred that they would need to have a vendor permit to do this and they got all huffy and puffy and said if they shut me down ill just go to the media..

Play by the rules and you wont have any problem. Charity or not.

It's their own fault. I'd be annoyed if they were operating it on their property, but this is just silly on the parents' behalf.

Maryland does not rank high on the freedom index:

http://mercatus.org/freedom-50-states-2011

Sounds like self entitled parents to me, using their children for publicity. I feel bad for the kids.

1. They didn't steal anything, they didn't force anyone to buy lemonade, they didn't violate anyone's property rights.

2. Setting up store in the vicinity of a place that attracts large crowds is just good business sense.

3. A government official who threatens to fine you if you don't close up shop or a government official who immediately fines you is the same thing. Didn't you Americans celebrate the signing of the declaration of independence yesterday? ... life, liberty and property? :)

if you start allowing that though you'll have a bunch of 'vendors' harassing people outside of most any event that draws a number of people. vendors inside pay to be there. why should those outside not have to?

Yesterday I bitched slapped a girl scout trying to force cookies on me.

The "license fee" doesn't go to the people organizing the US Open, it goes to the government. The fact that there was an event nearby is irrelevant. This is about 1 organization (the state) stopping people from engaging in voluntary trade with other people unless the state gets its cut.

Who's property was the stand on and does that make a difference?

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People keep talking about the "Rules" Why is it that we invite the government to regulate just about every facet of everyday life, Defend our shores, Deliver the mail (they don't even have to do much of that anymore with the advent of email and courier service) Put out the fires, and keep criminals off the streets, and do it with the least amount of expense to the tax payer. Its getting ridiculous. There seems to be a law, bylaw or rule for just about everything.

Remember when it was every little snot nosed kid's right to go out and set up a lemonade stand in their driveway and neighbors would stop by and patronize their stand? Before long, it will be illegal for kids to shovel walk ways or mow lawns, or clean windows, without having some sort of license or permit.

If someone has an event near my home and I choose to sell my driveway or lawn for parking or my kids sell lemonade or cookies or whatnot, from my property then the city can go fuck themselves.

Seriously, where does it end?

That is a good point. If they had been on private property against the will of the owner or if they had been on the road impeding traffic then they would have been fined for or charged with a lot of other things than 'operating a lemonade stand without a permit'.

They were warned a number of times by the police.

Seriously, its not their land and not their event. Can't they just have said after the first warning "you know kids, we should probably just get going and set this up at home"

Nah, self entitled parents thinking "I can set this up wherever I want, do whatever I want and fuck the police and your rules"

If they didn't enforce these basic laws, we'd have vendors out of the wazoo harassing you to buy their shit like some Moroccan marketplace.

the only reason why this is a big deal is because it has to do with kids. kids need to follow rules just like adults :2 cents:

they were warned, chose to ignore it and were then forced closed and fined. Would we be having this discussion if a beaner kid set up a taco or fruit stand without a permit and donating the money to a charity? The rules are there for a reason

Those kids should be jailed for 6 years each, their parents flogged bare-assed on the steps of the courthouse at high noon.

Rules are rules.

OMFG. It's a god damn lemonade stand. For all I care it was set up on the steps of the White House, who cares? It's a lemonade stand.

Rules are rules? Seriously? What the hell are we talking about? :(

Fuck these parents who think that their little shit brat ass kids can do any damn thing they want.

Kids today need to know the value of a dollar and rules,lock em up!

They have to ask permission to sell candy bars or cookies or whatever infront of the big stores here!

The parents will probably try somewhere like that next.


Anyway, no sympathy for them. They got warned and chose to ignore it. Should be fined $5,000.

Most cities you have to have a permit to even have a garage sale.

Sure its a lemonade stand but that's not really the bigger picture.

When a location owner has paying people visiting an event, what are they really entitled to on their property......

Should their patrons be allowed to park and comfortably walk without interference to the entrance to view what they paid for.....or should a precedence be set whereby anyone can set up a stall and hawk whatever they want to sell.

How many people would then be of the opinion that visiting an event is a pain in the ass because they have to endure the minefield of vendors poking shitty meat on sticks in their faces and "looky looky" guys trying to sell counterfeit watches from inside their coats.

You can guarantee that once it degenerated into a free for all, everyone would be pissing and moaning as to "why can't they clear these fuckers out of the way, I just want get in and sit down".

Why would I want to look at the bigger picture? It's little KIDS in a lemonade stand for charity. People are getting way to uptight. They need to get their head out of their asses.


So now you're comparing a few cute kids that setup a lemonade stand for charity with a bunch of annoying people who are out for a profit? Right.

This same issue comes up about once a month in national news. Kids set up a lemonade stand where it's going to cause some sort of problem for this reason or that, they get warned to move the stand or get proper permits, the parents of the kids refuse to move the stand or get proper permits, family gets a fine for a lemonade stand and then there is a big hoorah because a couple poor kids got a fine. Boohoo.

Attention whorism at its best.

Then another Kids stand, then another, then something else.
How much is going to Charity?

Adults use the "CHILDREN" & "CHARITY" all the time for profit.

Look it is one thing to think your doing a good thing and honestly are doing it and make a mistake. But when you are TOLD you are worng, you are just trying to get on the news, and showing the CHILDREN that you believe you are above the law.

Stop hiding behind the Children and Charity, do the right thing.

Anyone who say Oh the Children or Charity, has fallen for the Pity Party in the new age of Entitlement.

It doesn't end there.

Put yourselves in the shoes of any location owner, be it a stadium or any place where people might gather/visit.

You now have to let whoever wants to, to set up on your doorstep and hawk their wares (which may indeed conflict with your own merchandise) and engage your potential customers. They likely don't have insurance and its questionable as to their sanitation, refuse cleaning abilities and how they are providing safe utilities.

That's not something you'd want.

And what about the customers? Is there even the smallest percent of those that enjoy and would return to your premises knowing that they have to walk a gauntlet each time.


Of course, by including "cute kids" in your post, I know you're just trying to push buttons but I couldn't resist posting the common sense reason as to why people can't just set up shop where they like.

That's exactly the attitude that got those parents into the fine situation they're in. (see what I did there? "fine" situation? Cause they were fined? ha) (ya you see what I did there) :D


But it's true, I've seen it happen with my own eyes at other events. One person or group goes ahead and sets up wherever they want, no permits etc. You (the event people) ignore it (because it's 'just kids'), then 20 mins later there's a few extra hotdog carts, a couple burger carts, an unauthorized souvenir stand, and later a few people have set up tables to sell their leftover yard sale crap. Pretty soon you've got, like someone already said, a MINEFIELD of annoying hawkers to get through in order to get to the event. And hey, you let the kids do it, right? So what's good for them is good for the rest.

Several times while working large outdoor concert events I was witness to the same thing happening with parking. One person would pull up at the side of a vital access road and park their car thinking Hey, why should I park where I'm told to, half a mile away, when there's a perfectly good spot right there by the concert? It's obvious their vehicle shouldn't be there but they did it anyway. It was left unchecked for a while and sure enough 45 mins later there were over 20 vehicles parked in that area on both sides of the accessway all but blocking it (and thus preventing the larger entertainer vehicles from gaining access to the backstage area). Every one of those vehicles had to be towed, moved or otherwise hauled out of there, at full expense to the owner of course.

Yes, damn straight rules are rules. They're there for a reason, not just to "keep you down".

What about the rules of the road? Should we flout them as well? Hey, if it's just a couple of kids riding an ATV why should they have to abide by any existing rules? They're just kids right?

Sorry, no sale. They should have gotten a permit or else had their sale either at home or at least further away from the event they were attempting to leach off of.

that still doesn't make it right.

by that definition Rosa Parks was an attention whore.

Just like Governments use "safety", "the public welfare", national security",... to gain more power and impose higher taxes and a constant stream of fines onto the people. That's what this is really about.


first they came for the lemonade stands....

What if it was Jim Jones poison lemonade?

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I think the bigger picture is who the hell wants to be hit up by kids to drink their lemonade anyway?

First of all, those kids never set up store on the property of those event holders. The event holders never complained. It was some government official who wanted to make more money for the government.

Secondly: lemonade stands, hotdog carts, hamburger carts,... none of those would stay at any location for a long time if no one was buying their products. The fact that people were buying lemonade or the fact that people at other events were buying hotdogs and hamburgers proves that people valued the services (the sale of cold lemonade, hotdogs, hamburgers,...) that were being offered otherwise people wouldn't be willing to hand over their money in exchange for those products. It's a great thing, it's called the free market.

how exactly would paying the government $10 for a permit make sure that the lemonade was safe to drink?:winkwink:

I can't think of a truer free market than Mexico, not working out to well for them.

They have a central bank, legal tender laws, a police system,.... not really a free market then...

thanks ... that was funny ...:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I was thinking maybe there were food prep standards/permits that had to be complied with and random people setting up through out the city could be dangerous health wise. Tacos, lemonade, grilled chicken, are they all lumped together?

.

According to that gov official's own words all they needed to do to get the permit was pay $10. that's $10 to be able to sell lemonade without the government sending in their goons to shut you down. the fact that some vendor has a license only means that he gave the government its cut, not that the safety or quality of the product he's selling is in any way being guaranteed by the government.

how much did they make? im guessing they just jumped in. their are rules from state to state on charity.