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August 21, 2008
Nipping Capitalism in the Bud
Posted by Dave Blount at August 21, 2008 6:00 PM
If moonbattery is to flourish, it's crucial that children be taught at a young age that wealth is for seizing, not creating, and that individual initiative will only draw the ire of the authorities. Clayton, California Mayor Gregg Manning is doing his part:
Two young East Bay girls are trying to find out if you really can fight city hall. The youngsters are battling to get their produce stand back after the city of Clayton shut them down.
The mayor himself is getting involved in this issue; he says the produce stand, operated by two young sisters, had to be shut down because of public safety and a zoning ordinance. But members of the Lewis family say — we have just begun to fight.
On a Clayton street corner is where 11-year-old Katie and 3-year-old Sabrina Lewis had been selling their families surplus fruits and veggies — stuff like:
"Zucchini, melons, tomatoes, radishes," said Sabrina Lewis.
They did it for maybe four hours on Saturday mornings to make a little money. They haven't sold a thing since the police showed up recently in response to one complaint to the mayor's office.
"They said traffic was being stopped and then they came up with we can't have a roadside stand and then they said it was a commercial enterprise," said Katie Lewis, former produce seller.
As for the traffic issue, neighbor Terri Highsmith says there isn't one.
"On the weekends is when I mostly notice them selling. I come and go a lot and I've never seen any traffic problems," said Highsmith.
Clayton Mayor Gregg Manning disagrees. And wonders what Katie and Sabrina might do with that produce stand if the zoning laws weren't enforced.
"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," said Manning.
By the time they're in their thirties, they could be running a chain of supermarkets! Good thing Manning put a stop to their ambitions before things got out of hand.
On a tip from Rob Banks.
