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Big Government Makes 7 Year Old Lemonade Entrepreneur Cry

August 7th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Ah, the joys of big government.

This one’s from the New York Times:

Julie Murphy, a 7-year-old Oregonian, set up a lemonade stand on July 29 at an art fair in northeast Portland. County health inspectors shut her down, however, telling Julie and her mother, Maria Fife, that they needed a temporary restaurant license, which costs $120. The penalty for selling food without a permit, they warned, was $500. At 50 cents a cup, that’s a lot of lemonade.

Others at the fair urged the family to give away the lemonade, and they wrote “free” and “suggested donation” on Julie’s sign with a marker. But the inspectors were unmoved.

Julie left the fair in tears.

How do you feel about your hard-earned tax money being used to pay government bullies to harass a 7 year old?

Update: From Gawker:

Mean Oregon health officials shut down 7-year-old Julie Murphy’s lemonade stand because it wasn’t up to code. But now the county’s top official has apologized: ”A lemonade stand is a classic, iconic American kid thing to do,” he said.

Tags: News · Tax Humor

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