"Government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem." - Ronald Reagan
The ideological battle between the Left and the Right can be summed up quite literally as the battle over the size of government. Big government versus small government. If a government grows to a level where it nationalizes what once was the domain of the private sector, at which point does it stop governing, and begin to rule?
Despite calling myself a Conservative, and being a reluctant registered Republican, in the end I am not bound by the rhetoric of either group. The GOP is hardly the party of conservatism it was when I first registered as a Republican back in 1984. Conservatism contains pockets of infighting that sometimes makes me want to just wash my hands of it all, and claim no label whatsoever. I feel this way because in the end it is not about Conservatism, or Republicanism. In the end it is all about Liberty - and I believe freedom is best served without government interference.
Anarchy is not a direction I wish to go. Such lawlessness sits quietly on the far right edge of the political spectrum, and historically has a penchant for the destruction of lives, and ultimately, civilizations. The other extreme, total government control, resides on the far left end of the political spectrum, and like its opposite mirror image, such a system results in the destruction of lives, and whatever civil society existed before the totalitarian system gained control.
In support of a Republican Form of Government, I recognize the need for limited government. Government, however, exists to grow, and protect itself. Through creeping incrementalism government slowly gathers power, growing bit by bit, often without anyone paying much heed to the government growth. Historically, you rarely see the size of government shrink, and when it does it is often as the result of a revolution. Government feeds on liberty, and grows until it becomes tyrannical. Common sense, at that point, is cast to the wind. Personal responsibility is traded in for treasures from the treasury. Why take care of yourself if the government is wiling to support you?
As government grows, individual achievement is discouraged. Self-sustaining activities are frowned upon as being anti-government. Enforcement changes from protecting and serving the people, to controlling the populace. The government, to quell individualism, begins to enforce every law to the maximum, doing away with exceptions and special rules. Nit-picking. Majoring on the minors while minoring on the majors. Government becomes absolute except where not being so is to the benefit of government retaining its power.
Big Government gone wild has reared its ugly head in Tulare, California. This quaint town, tucked between Bakersfield and Fresno along highway 99 in Central California, has determined that a child's lemonade stand was operating without a Business License and needed to be shut down for it. The article also indicates the Code Enforcement Officer determined the corner the lemonade stand was on was a dangerous one, but I wonder if that reason was added later to make the shut down of the 8 year old's lemonade stand not sound so insidious.
A Business License is nothing more than a business tax. It is a means of revenue, and nothing more. There is no regulatory function associated with the Business License, and it does nothing to "protect" the public. In short, it is just another way for cities to squeeze more money out of businesses that decide to do business in a particular city.
Trust me, I know. I was a part of the Business License division in a city for nearly four years. The processing fee for new licenses was a ridiculous $90, and that was slapped on top of a $100 tax. The Business License Inspector even had a lap top she carried with her, and a cash box, to ensure all business licenses on any job site, or whatever, was paid to the city. In the particular city I worked for, the business tax paid by buying a Business License added up to 4% of the city's total revenue. More often than not the Business Tax walked hand in hand with building permits and large businesses that also handed over their retail sales tax amounts. Sometimes, however, the Business License brigade also struck small businesses that could barely operate under the immense regulatory environment of the city and state, as well as suffering under the overpowering, anti-business State Government rules and regulations, much less afford to pay for a ridiculous Business License as well.
I, personally, thought minors were exempt from paying taxes. Yes, yes, I know there are exceptions. Sales tax is applied to everyone in California, regardless of age. Of course the opposite is true in Oregon, where there is no state sales tax. But to apply a business tax on a kid that has a lemonade stand with the hopes of raising enough money to go to Disneyland is absolutely absurd, isn't it?
Tulare, in my opinion, is contributing to the problem of big government, and is but a functioning limb of a government body that thinks it must control, and rule, the people.
Shame on you, Tulare Code Enforcement. And may I also give a well deserved "atta boy" to the local disc jockey, Davey D of KSEQ, in nearby Visalia, for getting together with the radio station and offering the girl and her family free tickets to visit Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim, California.
Vice Mayor Philip Vandegrift said officials were working on a compromise that could allow children under a certain age to operate lemonade stands without business licenses. Working on a compromise? Hey, idiot leaders of Tulare! They are kids! Kill the idiotic clause in your laws that requires code enforcement officers to be Scrooge's, and go around shutting down individualistic money making ventures by children! You want them to grow up and be successful entrepreneurs so that they can help invigorate the local economy, right?
All I can do is shake my head.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
By Douglas V. Gibbs
City shuts down girl's lemonade stand - UPI
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