Originally published March 5 2015
NJ cops bust teenagers shoveling snow without a permit
by L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
(NaturalNews) I remember being a 15-year-old boy looking for ways to make money on my summer vacation. The whole world seemed to lay ahead of me, and I wasn't about to sit and watch it pass me by. I remember taking $50 out of my $100 savings and purchasing a tabletop snow cone machine, some cups, bags of ice and a handful of flavored snow cone syrups.
That summer, I started a snow cone business, without permits, without taxes, without government interference. I freely delivered snow cones to the neighborhood that summer for 50 cents each, operating right out of my bedroom window. After two months, I had made enough profit to buy my first car: a $500 used Chevy Beretta. I even had enough profit left over to give to a local community organization. I was proud of myself. The neighbors were happy. Everything was full of abundance in my mind.
That summer, so full of wonder and excitement, is what a free market should look like: someone (me) investing in an idea and serving the surrounding community in the way I knew best. The people in the community are free to choose whether to buy the product or pay for the service. If the market conditions are right, the entrepreneur is compensated for his hard work.
In this free market, there is no one coming along to steal from his service, his business. There's no government looking to tax him. The prosperity was not created by a government bureaucracy and it should not be micromanaged by one. The prosperity remains decentralized and rightfully so. The individual is free to manage the fruits of his own labor. In my case, I bought my own modest car and donated the rest.
What we are seeing today is the opposite of free markets. Children who start lemonade stands are now targeted by government enforcers who force the children to shut down the lemonade stand or face permit fines.
The human spirit seeks to provide and share, to do work that matters, to serve and be independent. The government is now a vehicle that takes from these endeavors, forcing individuals to submit, comply, and become docile and dependent.
Teenagers face $450 permit fee for wanting to shovel the snow off neighbor's driveway
The free market is under attack in America today. It's so under attack that teenagers looking to make some extra money shoveling snow can now be stopped in their tracks and forced to pay erroneous permit fees.
That's the case for Matt Molinari and Eric Schnepf, two 18-year-olds from Bound Brook, New Jersey. On January 27, they traveled door to door handing out homemade flyers offering their snow-shoveling services. The weather forecast predicted several inches of snow the next day, and school had already been canceled. The boys were looking to serve their neighbors and make some extra cash.
Local news reports in Bound Brook report that local law enforcement told the boys to stop going door to door. The cops said the boys were not allowed to solicit business door-to-door without obtaining a permit from the local government.
The permit cost $450 and is good for 180 days. Fees like this make any small service not worth it at all. Imagine making a hundred dollars shoveling snow one day only to be forced to fork over all of the earnings, plus $350 extra dollars from your savings account just to satisfy the local government permit masters.
When did we become a nation that discourages servitude, hard work and decentralized business that benefits the community?
When did we write laws that intimidate the free market, forcing people to give up and be dependent or be fined until they are dependent?
When did a piece of paper (a permit), get in the way of the free and independent American spirit? What kind of bizarre police state are we now living in?
When are fully reasonable officers of the law going to stop and say, "Hey, I'm not just going to take orders anymore! I'm going to do whatever I can to restore what makes this country, and this world a better place."
Sources:
http://www.thedailysheeple.com
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml