You’ve heard of “gateway drugs.” What about “gateway capitalism”?
The mayor of Clayton, California, apparently believes that two little girls selling zucchinis and melons by the roadside is the start of something bad.
The city cracked down on Katie and Sabrina Lewis’s veggie stand. Mayor Gregg Manning defended the bust, saying that “They may start out with a little card-table and selling a couple of things, but then who is to say what else they have. Is all the produce made there, do they make it themselves? Are they going to have eggs and chickens for sale next?”
Heavens! Capitalism run amok! Streetside vendors are to be allowed only when city governments run the show, as in the growing movement to establish old-fashioned day-markets. You know, Saturday Markets and Sunday Markets and the like.
But veggie stands, like dreaded lemonade stands, are illegal in Clayton.
You can understand the concern, I guess: Traffic problems. This police operation started off on one complaint. But most neighbors defend the stand, saying that traffic was never a problem.
So now 11-year-old Katie has gotten political. She circulated a petition to reopen the stand, and has lots of signatures. Best of luck to Katie and Sabrina, but I am afraid that the lesson you’ll really be learning isn’t about capitalism at all. It’s about bureaucracy.
And an awful void of common sense.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
3 replies on “Gateway Capitalism”
Perhaps Katie should circulate two petitions. The second one could be to recall Mayor Manning.
Another name for bureaucracy is socialism, which we are in, and if we don’t watch out it will be communism or islamism. Freedom is not free, we need to fight like these two girls, most of us had rather except being dominated instead of fighting for freedom. Thanks Paul for your fight.
“Runaway Capitalism!”…
Horrors! Two little girls in Clayton, California, (The “People’s Republic of California) opened a little veggie stand, selling zuccinis and melons until the cops closed them up. The cops were afraid they’d “grow” and start selling other things.……