Police State: City Shuts Down Hot Dog Stand Boy Opened To Help Disabled Parents...

[paulitician]

Such a big heart ole Big Brother has, huh?


This summer, 13-year-old Nathan Duszynski wanted to make some money to help out his disabled parents—his mom has epilepsy and his dad has multiple sclerosis. So he decided to open a hot dog stand. He saved $1,200, mostly money made by mowing lawns and shoveling snow. He checked with the city to make sure he didn't need any licenses or permits, even going to city hall in person with his mom. And then he bought a cart. (Yep, that's hot dogs from Nathan's, for those who are keeping score at home.)

He arrived to set up shop on his first day and 10 minutes later, a zoning official arrived to shut him down. The problem: The cart, which is in the parking lot of a sporting goods store, is on the edge of official downtown commercial district of Holland, Michigan. The city bans food carts in that area in order to minimize competition for the eight tax-paying restaurants a couple of blocks away.

As it happens, I've been to Holland. It's a lovely town, but not exactly a booming metropolis. And frankly (ha!), after an evening of Blue Motorcycles Butch's Dry Dock, a hot dog would really have hit the spot. The city says it is willing to work with Nathan, but keeping food carts out of the small, walkable downtown area is pretty much the same thing as banning food carts altogether. Nathan and his family obviously know that: The hot dog cart is now for sale.

The Mackinac Center has made a nice little video about the ridiculous story:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MK9Hwtzu8U]City Shuts Down Teen's Hot Dog Vendor Cart! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Stephanie]

This story was pretty sad..this is what happens with a overbearing Government..

they can give and they can take it away..

 

[strollingbones]

i wished a diner would step up and associate with nathan

 

[paulitician]

The excuse the City gave, was absolutely pathetic. This is exactly why Big Government needs to become much smaller.

 

[occupied]

Zoning laws are among the most unjust things about America but are entirely within libertarian beliefs as they are local in nature and made by local authorities.

 

[NYcarbineer]

The excuse the City gave, was absolutely pathetic. This is exactly why Big Government needs to become much smaller.

How much smaller than government at the city level can government get. This is what you people want,

weak state and federal governments, and the power in the hands of the local governments.

 

[High_Gravity]

Thats absolutely ridiculous, now they are going after kids running hot dog stands and lemonade stands.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Anyone want a fish market or massage parlor next door? Zoning laws exist for a reason. No matter how sympathetic one might be to the story, the fact remains other food trucks would soon follow it the minor were allowed to continue operation outside of the law.

The fact that the link describes city workers willing to work with the minor isn't on the radar of the far left righties - those so far left they meet the far right on the idiot fringe of ideology.

 

[rightwinger]

All the kid has to do is move to an area where it is allowed

Gotta protect small business don't we?

 

[tjvh]

Life is so unfair.

 

[RDD_1210]

Federal government gone wild!!!

 

[HUGGY]

This story was pretty sad..this is what happens with a overbearing Government..

they can give and they can take it away..

This is more a story of how established businesses collude to prevent small businesses from gaining a foothold and threatening the commerce they have already cornered.

On a very small scale this is an example of what can go wrong when the tentacles of Fascism reach into even the small towns. Clearly there is an unhealthy relationship between the forces of the existing businesses and the local government.

The issue is free enterprise vs unfair restriction of competition.

The local government is only acting on the preasure being applied by the colluding establishment.

I agree that it is wrong but you have pointed your anger at the wrong people. I can assure you that if the local businesses were not pushing to shut down any competition there would be no issue at all.

 

[edthecynic]

This story was pretty sad..this is what happens with a overbearing Government..

they can give and they can take it away..

And by overbearing government you mean a local government led by a republican mayor, of course.

 

[NYcarbineer]

Well, let me take an educated guess here, and by all means correct me if I'm wrong, if his parents are legitimately disabled, they are eligible for government disability benefits, among others,

most of which these 'small government' types would happily eliminate.

In their perfect world, the parents would be absolutely destitute, but, on the bright side,

their 13 YEAR OLD SON would be able to work his ass off anywhere he wanted in order to keep them alive.

Yep, that's the America the rightwing/libertarian types dream of ...

 

[PoliticalChic]

Thats absolutely ridiculous, now they are going after kids running hot dog stands and lemonade stands.

1. City puts a stop to homeless outreach
Couple must have proper permit to continue feeding dozens each day
That ended two weeks ago when the city shut down their "Feed a Friend" effort for lack of a permit. And city officials say the couple most likely will not be able to obtain one.
"We don't really know what they want, we just think that they don't want us down there feeding people," said Bobby Herring, a Christian rapper who goes by the stage name Tre9.
Anyone serving food for public consumption, whether for the homeless or for sale, must have a permit, said Kathy Barton, a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Department. To get that permit, the food must be prepared in a certified kitchen with a certified food manager.
Houston permit rule stops couple's effort to feed homeless - Houston Chronicle


2. NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – After targeting distracted drivers, some New York lawmakers want to go after distracted walkers. They are looking to ban them from using iPods, music players and cell phones while walking and crossing the street.
Sen. Kruger Wants To Ban Chatting On Cell Phones While Crossing Street « CBS New York


3. “Every two to three years, Eddie Sales trims and prunes the crape myrtles at his church, Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church.
But this year, the city of Charlotte cited the church for improperly pruning its trees.
"We always keep our trees trimmed back because you don't want to worry about them hanging down in the way," said Sales, a church member.
The church was fined $100 per branch cut for excessive pruning, bringing the violation to $4,000.”
Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...ch-fined-for-improper-tree.html#ixzz1NmdeIchz

4. An inspector in Maryland sparked a public relations nightmare when he ordered kids to shut down a lemonade stand -- and fined their parents $500.
Even worse, the adorable children weren't just marketing a tasty treat. They were raising money for a pediatric-cancer charity.
WUSA9 reported that the inspector shut down the lemonade stand in Bethesda, Md., ear the U.S. Open because the pint-size entrepreneurs didn't have a vendors' license.
Read more: Kids' lemonade stand raising money for pediatric cancer charity shut down by inspectors in Maryland - NY Daily News


Dickens: Mr. Bumble replies "If the law supposes that ... the law is a [sic] ass—a idiot.

 

[RDD_1210]

This story was pretty sad..this is what happens with a overbearing Government..

they can give and they can take it away..

And by overbearing government you mean a local government led by a republican mayor, of course.

Expect a response of "Oh brother" or something else that shows that she has no clue about 99% of the shit she says. She is the very definition of a sheep who follows the herd.

 

[edthecynic]

Thats absolutely ridiculous, now they are going after kids running hot dog stands and lemonade stands.

And by "they" you mean the local Republican mayor, of course.

 

[ClosedCaption]

Sometimes Paul posts the most insignificant stories

 

[NYcarbineer]

Sometimes Paul posts the most insignificant stories

I wonder if he came to the defense of the occupy wall streeters in regards to their many violations of city zoning, ordinances, rules, regulations etc.

I don't recall. Maybe he'll remind us.

 

[Stephanie]

This story was pretty sad..this is what happens with a overbearing Government..

they can give and they can take it away..

And by overbearing government you mean a local government led by a republican mayor, of course.

I don't give a shit what party they belong too..
you people have to bring your politics into everything...it's always Democrats-Republicans