Introduction
Just a quick post today. I was catching up on my recent news feed and almost spit my coffee out when I saw this story from a few days ago.
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According to the BBC a 5 year old girl had set up a little lemonade stall in Mile End (London) where she was selling people glasses of lemonade for 50p.
It seems that a humourless employee from the local council spotted that she was breaking the rules and "heroically" stormed in to shut her criminal enterprise down.
He started filming the girl whilst reading out the various council regulations that she was breaking (presumably he thought that a 5 year old would understand such things).
In the end he fined her £150 because she did not have the requisite license (which she couldn't have anyway because you need to be 17 to have it).
Unsurprisingly the little girl burst into tears and told her father- "I've done a bad thing".
I very much doubt she will ever make "the mistake" of using her initiative again. The streets are safe again (in case it isn't obvious I'm being sarcastic).
You can read the full story here.
My Thoughts - An All Too Common Failure of Common Sense
From what I understand these kind of laws and rules are supposed to exist to protect the public and prevent child labour.
They are not there to harass young children who show entrepreneurial spirit and initiative.
One must ask the question of what was going on in the mind of the council employee who thought this was a valid case for issuing a fine?
Anyone with even a modicum of human decency would have ignored the situation as not being worth their time. Further if they were scared of getting into trouble or not doing their job they could have had a quiet word with the father in private.
It is not difficult to handle a situation with sensitivity and discretion.
Instead they found the situation warranted scaring a small child and possibly traumatising her for life.
I wonder how much entrepreneurial spirit has been crushed as a result of such of such boneheaded actions?
Sadly we find that in many aspects of life, socially awkward, humourless people are given clipboards and rule sets to follow without first checking if they actually have any common sense.
Often these people are incapable of doing anything beyond ticking boxes - exercising actual judgement is actually something which requires too much effort.
Some people even seem to get intoxicated with the power it gives them over others.
In a good system such people would be weeded before they could ever reach such positions and certainly removed if they ever acted in this way.
Sadly it seems that often the exact opposite seems to happen where these kind of people actually seem to be over-represented in these kind of occupations and don't suffer any consequences for their actions.
In this case the council involved has apologised and cancelled the fine but the damage to the young girl is done.
Further there is no word on what action (if any) has been taken against the moronic employee who was responsible for this idiocy.
-One would hope they were fired, but I doubt that happened.
Thank you for reading
What the actual fck! That's just pitty nicking from that guy. I understand that there are regulations but come on.. This should be for adults. Kids need to explore things and can do such things. They probably make $25 on their best day. That's not much for an adult but for a kid its a lot.
They should be ashamed of theirselves!
Exactly my thoughts too. It is pretty disgusting and it is not protecting anyone.
Precisely. Those kind of people just wanna snitch on something because their lives are crap. Giving a fine to a little kid, and even a big fine, is just terrible. That kid is not scarred and doesn't want to do that kind of stuff anymore that's just a shame.
When you see a little kid sell something with joy, it lights up your world. Even though the lemonade can be disgusting, you still buy it to see that smile and make her day. I see some kids in my neighbourhood do it sometimes and some even make it theirselves with real lemons. Honestly it's disgusting haha, but they are so happy when they sell it. I always ask them what they are saving up for, and one kid even said she was saving up for new books to learn new stuff. Without any hesitation I gave her a fee afterwards haha!
Exactly. These kids should be encouraged. She could be the next Richard Branson.
Haha exactly! An empowered business woman that starts business one after an other!
There should be a 'free' zone where those kids should be encouraged. When it's your own front yard you should be able to do it!
I suspect in your own yard you could get into trouble for conducting business in a residential zone!
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Nobody cares how the law should work. Or for what it is intended. The authorities simply execute it as they want in the framework of any possible interpretations. And sometimes far beyond this framework. But in the latter case, sometimes they manage to sue them.
Right.
there is actually something dysfunctional in our society. A friend just told me about a young girl using her i-phone while driving drunk with her 14 yr old sister and a friend. She lost control and flipped the car killing her sister. She took photos of the whole thing including her sister lying dead in the road with a bashed-in skull.
Every day I watch the news and ask myself, where is the humanity?
Wow that is some sick psychopathic behaviour.
Is it society or the availablity of tech?
If camera phones were around in the middle ages youtube would be horrific.
There are examples through history of people bemoaning declining society. In reality now is the safest time in history to be alive.
yes, that's definitely part of it - but what's alarming to me is people putting aside normal human tendencies to help in favour of recording the moment
This the new generation of "record everything and do nothing to help". I live 10 min from the place where a few teens recorded a guy drowning and wouldn't even call 911.
I heard about that too - as a parent, I don't know what I'd do - a teen like that is missing something
These days, standard procedures aren't implemented to increase quality, but to lower costs; they allow management to hire a cheaper ilk of people: the slightly stupid incompetents. All they have to do is follow procedure, no thinking or discretion required or even wanted.
The completion of procedures quickly becomes a goal, instead of means to an end; as long as procedures are followed, you can do nothing wrong, whatever the outcome. This is often combined with targets in the general form of completing a procedure as often as possible per day, even when it concerns fines for law violations.
It's happening everywhere these days, universal beyond what you describe.
They need to look at the situation rather than a rule book, a judge is meant to judge; not throw someone away or shut a child's business down . but sadly, every day legal systems are preying on us. It has turned into a profit scheme not a way of seeking justice.
Sadly I think you are correct. Sometimes people are even given targets - take parking fines for example.
The possibility of hiring cheaper people, who won't be allowed any discretion in their work, has been an explicit item in most pre-project briefings I got as an industrial engineer and ICT architect in the 20-odd years I worked for large multinational companies. It's no secret.
Interesting - was not aware that it was an actual goal.
This has happened in the U.S. as well. All the rules are supposed to protect us but they are often written to prevent competition with existing businesses which bribe the politicians writing the laws with campaign contributions.
Yes I'm afraid it seems they often end up protecting existing interests for that very reason.
Oh, now we can take a breath! Justice has been served.
I can't even imagine what would happen if that despicable evil child would give someone a lemonade. Everyone knows that the scariest thing about lemonade is a lemon!
Oh well... this sick world. Common sense is now officially dead.
Yes we are all safe now!
Maybe i am such a firecracker in entrepreneurism because I didn't get stopped selling cherries when I was small. The rule comes as far as I know from too many poisonings in the past. It makes sense to me because you cannot walk around with a laboratory all the time to check everything. Children should be allowed to do that and for older people I find it better to send companies out to test the lemonade and once you get caught with poison in it you cannot sell for 10 years or so edit: instead of a licence, fuck off gov..
Yes but if they really wanted to prevent food poisoning they would actually be testing rather than handing out fines.
'If God gives you nothing but lemons... apply to your local council for a permit before you sell lemonade...'
This is how they raise serfs. When something like that happens to a kid he's gonna think to himself that he's better off home, doing nothing. At least nothing nothing bad can happen he/she watches TV.
That little girl will probably have complex of thinking that she is not worthy of doing business.
Or the opposite happens..and she grows up to start a revolution!
Sadly it does encourage people to give up on trying new things and new ideas at a young age.
Exactly.
No words. Fkng freedom is just a word with as much weight as air in a balloon.
The more we hand over our 'lives' and responsibilities and securing us to the AGENCIES the more ridiculous things, like this one, will happen!
Yes and it seems to be getting worse every day. The most annoying thing is that some of these people exercise no judgement whatsoever. Those kind of people should be weeded out in the initial stages of job application.
She's learnt an important lesson: The authorities will hound you until you díe.
For real ? What the fuck is wrong with this world. There are so many idiots around that it's not even funny anymore. Why do this to a child...
Exactly - some people are just idiots basically.
I approve this statement. Shla-rafia, approving statements since 2017
:)
Common sense died a long time ago. Welcome to idiocracy.
Yes sadly I think you are right.
A jobsworth doing his job doesn't matter who it hurts, how really sad and pathetic. Poor little girl must have been very scared. What harm was she doing, some people really are OTT
Exactly. Do you remember a show called "That's Life" - I vaguely recall it from when I was a kid? They used to give out a Jobsworth award for this kind of behaviour every week I think it was a golden broom or something.
Yeah I remember watching this, Esther Rantzen was the hist I thnk.
We should all put up a lemonade stand and keep the fuckers busy. Resteemed.
Lol yes!
This is outrageous
Yes exactly.
Common sense should be renamed as uncommon sense. I find that more and more people are lacking it nowadays. How hard was it to ask the little girl where her parents were and talk to the parents instead? A child wouldn't understand what he jabbered about anyway and the only thing he managed to do was scar a child - a scar which she will likely carry for the rest of her life. It's amazing how thoughless people could be.
Yes exactly.
Only two options. Binary outcome:
We are all responsible for our own children -- and that includes protecting them from having to work too young or work in dangerous situations. If we don't protect our own children, then they end up either getting stunted or killed, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. That is, after all, the burden of parenthood woven into reality, and also functions as a filter so that stupid parents don't replicate as effectively.
Or, we hand over our parental responsibilities to a bureaucracy, which of course will focus exclusively on process to the detriment of outcomes, as bureaucracies always do. Some stupid, unfit parents will see their children survive that otherwise would not have, but at the expense of children with good parents not being allowed to give them the full advantage of their good parenting that they otherwise would.
The idea that we can find some happy medium, that we can take responsibility for other people's kids without it impacting our ability to parent our own children is fantasy.
Shackling yourself to someone that can't swim is a shitty way to reduce drownings.
Yes. I suppose what those on the other side would argue is that we need to protect those who are too stupid to do the right thing or take responsibility.
Those too stupid to do the right thing or take responsibility = children. That's fine --make me responsible for people who are chronologically adults but emotionally and intellectually children -- but then I make the decisions for them just like parent do for children. That means that they don't vote and they don't get to choose when to replicate themselves. That is my decision to make as the adult who is taking responsibility for things -- with the responsibility comes the freedom.
Can't have it both ways. Can't argue that you are incapable or unwilling to take responsibility for yourself and that you deserve all of the privileges of taking responsibility for yourself simultaneously.
Unless you want an unstable system in which the children steer the plane straight into the ground.
I can't believe someone from the council was willing to deter a child from running their harmless business just to get a few extra pounds.
They must be having a laugh if they think an innocent child should have a business permit to be allowed to sell her homemade drinks.
I don't understand why the council member would be willing to do this? I know that councils need more funding but you don't get it by robbing a young girls family.
This was really heartbreaking to read but at least the fines were cancelled but as you said the damage has been done @thecryptofiend and the child may never take to the streets to chase her little entrepreneurial instincts.
Yes it is surprising but it seems we hear these kind of stories more and more frequently.
To obey the law is common sense. To get a job is common sense. To pay your taxes is common sense. Common sense goes against any kind of innovation. What that person lack is basic human sensibility.
I don't necessarily agree with that.
Which part?
That common sense goes against innovation.
What I meant with common sense is what most people belive is normal and don't ever question any part of it. That's why I said it goes against innovation since to innovate you need to think outside the box and don't take anything for granted.
OK I understand. That makes sense.
Obey the law, get a job and paying your taxes is not commons sense.
It is what you have been indoctrinated into.
If you were meant to obey the law, the law would be no bigger than the bible, it would easily readable, in english, and it would be a required class in school. The law is none of those things. It is a group of writings by a secret cabal that fills libraries. It is written in a language that you have to go to school for years to learn to understand it. And in no part of your life were you actually taught anything about law. Further, I bet that almost everything you list as a law is actually a code. (Huge difference, but you probably were never taught that distinction)
Getting a job is something you were trained your whole life into. Go to school, Get a safe secure job.
However, that is not the case at all. There is no safe secure jobs. The only secure job is a job you create yourself. Or, becoming an entrepreneur. But, I bet that all you were taught about entrepreneurship is that it was dangerous and risky.
To pay your taxes. To pay your fair share. That is what you were told. First your federal taxes do not go to pay the govern-cement. They go to the FED. Where they are literally thrown into a furnace. Then the FED makes new money and loans it to the govern-cement. Throwing your money into a furnace is common sense?
Further, the govern-cement is doing things with "your money" that if you had any say in it, it would not do... EVER. Being in Afghanistan guarding poppies? Bailing out banks? Imposing regulations on lemonade stands?
I think you misunderstood me. What I meant with common sense is what most people belive is normal and don't ever question any part of it. That's why I said it goes against innovation since to innovate you need to think outside the box and don't take anything for granted.
I don't consider propagandized lies to be common sense.
But, I can easily see how you would use the wording that way.
Yes, way too many laws to "protect" control us. Our nations are like zoo exhibits. All taken care of and those growing up in the zoo have no idea what freedom and the wild is like. Most people now demand their zoo keepers take care of them and silly things like this are the result. In fact you can't even give a homeless person a sandwich without breaking the law.
Yes it is getting more and more insane.
Same here @thecryptofiend was just about to eat dinner and I couldn't believe what I was hearing on the news I thought I was wrong, its discusting that they would do such a thing and how is a little girl to understand the presented documents!?
Yes exactly.
I do not know what regulations are about this, but they should not apply to childrens who want some money for their vacation. Selling lemonade for a child is so common that you even see it in movies and animation movies. Although, selling it at 50p seems a little bit incorrect but if there are clients who wish to spend that amount of money on a lemonade, than why blame the girl. I remember myself beeing a child and beeing in need of money for vacation. Other kids do not have the initiative to do something like this and they ask for money to their parents so I believe she should be only educated and not harassed and shut down.
Exactly.
Yeah the whole world gone mad they won't be happy until they have full control over every aspect of are lives, cheers mike
Sadly it sometimes seems that way!
They won't leave us alone sods, thank you for your reply, cheers mike
NP:)
The problem is you are trying to apply rational logic to this situation.
You believe the propaganda.
Govern-cement is not for little businesses.
It is for big business.
Little businesses are allowed to exist only because if you actually tried to ban them, the propaganda would fail instantly.
Kids in school are programmed to get a job.
They never hear the words entrepreneur.
They are never taught finance or about money.
Big business are given loans at such good rates that they can buy their own stock with them.
Small businesses can't get loans. Loans for startups are done by vulture capitalists at some of the highest interest rates imaginable.
Small businesses are regulated to death. You have to know every govern-cement agency that wants you to file forms and file them all correctly. If you miss one, it is your fault, and a criminally fineable offense. There is no working with small businesses, there is only find their faults and fine them out of existence.
So the local council did exactly what he was supposed to do.
And I hate it! The system is so tainted that it needs to be wiped clean and then start with the premise that we want to encourage small businesses.
You are making a big assumption there.
I should appologize. My statement is most likely factual, but I didn't spell out the propaganda. You are awake to many propagandas.
But, I couldn't make the post you made, even in jest.
The destruction of the small business has been slow and methodical.
Just like the destruction of education.
What this council person did to this child, they do on a regular basis to adults who DARE to create a small business.
So, you wrote a post about how stupid govern-cement is being.
I would have wrote a post about how evil govern-cement is being.
And I mean life destroying, scorched earth, evil.
Lol yes I agree with your sentiment. I foresee a day when all we will have are mega corporations - maybe just Amazon!
No doubt, Rule is Rule. But in this case common sense is involved. And common sense is not common in the world. So Govt should prominent that guy, and educate such type of characters for for betterment of the society.
Yes.
WTF!? Man, I don't know what to say...but, I feel like this can only come from jealousy or regret..Speechless. THx for sharing, will resteem @thecryptofiend
Thank you. Yes it is crazy!
Lol I love Consuela!
This is why even as an Arthur C. Clarke fan, I consider Ayn Rand to be a 10 times better prophet. The entire article seems like it could have been from an unpublished Atlas Shrugged companion book written as an anthology.
God Save United Kingdom :p
Lol yes.
she looked soo cute
our schools and colleges does not teach us what to do with our money and this is what we do after we complete our education...... getting scammed by GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES by stock exchange brokers and EASY HOUSE FINANCE OPTION, EASY CAR FINANCE OPTION
she is doing experimentation at a very young age, she must be applaused not fined. :)
I agree. The photo is a stock photo and not the actual girl though.
One viewpoint I have heard and I personally believe in:
Laws and regulations are made to protect big companies instead of small companies. If business is highly regulated, starting up an business requires big investments and fewer and fewer have enough money to do it.
Big companies have money to invest more and thus can meet the regulations easier. In Finland someone they have talked about forcing all gas stations (next to the main roads) to get electric car chargers, even though electric car market is not very big. I could imagine it'd cause crazy costs for small business owners owning a small gas station if they'd have to invest into a electric car charger - which will hardly be used at all. "Yay"
Yes and it makes sense, since big companies have strong lobbying power.
Just in case you haven't met this before, I'll share the link. Just one of my favorite comic strips about lobbying.
http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2014-05-01
Thanks I will check it out!
As usual the state has come in to crush the possibility of an entrepreneurial spirit shining life into the forever shrinking free market. This little girl was setting the foundation of a lucrative hydration station where, once established she could employ some of her little friends and franchise out, maybe even freezing some lemonade to fill the supply gap in the lemon popsicle market. From there she would rent some local retail space and hire more friends injecting much needed economic growth into her local economy and build an even bigger tax base for the local council. But once again instead of growing a free market based on value added growth and nursing the entrepreneurial spirit of the future, the government decides to borrow and spend her future into state debt slavery. She'd be in prison if she was selling her lemonade for bitcoin lol. Steem on friends
Yes who knows what crushing these little dreams can prevent.
Thank dog the council were there to put this future hardened criminal in her place. She looks like a real threat to society. 🙄
:)
Whoever that guy was, wasn't thinking properly. Utter stupidity. He probably wanted to create a reason for him to film himself. Quite unbelievable.
Every once in a while, there will be those times where you'd lose faith for humanity and start to question the reality in the eyes of other people.
Agreed. Thankfully people do sometimes revive our faith in human nature too:)
As always, it's up to you to fight back.
I'm not sure why anyone would trust their safety, security, liberty, or happiness to the hands of strangers.
I don't think a 5 year old can really fight back and her father was probably in shock.
"Help, the weird politician/city official is touching me!"
Another successful endeavor to eliminate free enterprise, capitalism, and the motivation of young people to go out and make something of their lives. Disgusting.
Yes.
I am sure that employees who punish small children for initiative should not work with people at all.
Exactly.
This keeps happening and for some bizarre reason the backlash and death threats these officials get isn't enough to dissuade them from harassing lemonade-selling kids.
I didn't know it had happened before but doesn't surprise me.
Here's one article and here's another.
I can see the flipside of this matter as parents may "strongly encourage" aka manipulate/force kids to run these to make money. There's all sorts of scams where kids are coerced either to push a political agenda or just plain generate revenue for parents.
Dude this has happened a couple times here in the States. Its unfortunately the LEAST of the gross acts perpetrated by the police state.
Until people start becoming self reliant and empowered unfortunately it will only get worse.
Respect you as always~*~
The thing is most people are not even aware of such issues.
yea I know, its quite pathetic. People are to busy shopping, eating and watching tv or news.
I have been trying to make this issue known by doing LOTS of videos and articles on us feeding the homeless. Did you know that its ILLEGAL to feed homeless people in many states in the USA now? You have to have all kinds of expensive licenses and permits and follow all kinds of codes and shit otherwise they will arrest you.
We do it anyways and dare them to arrest us while using cameras and media and stuff to combat them instead of violence.
Yes I remember your post about that it is insane. I think a lot of people would prefer to pretend that homeless people don't exist.
unfortunately that is true. Just as they would like to pretend there are not thousands of child sex slaves being bought and sold around the world or that 911 was an inside job.
This will be the ruin of humanity if it continues. We need to face the truth and take responsibility for it.
ALL the solutions already exist. We just need enough people to care.
I appreciate all you do. Thanks
Thank you for posting this story. This same scenario is happening in America too. It makes me sad because I just know this sort of thing is going to have chilling effects on others, not just kids but adults as well, who just want to make a positive contribution to society and better themselves in the process. Heavy sigh.
Well I think it could be avoided if people were properly trained and allowed to express some kind of humanity rather than having to act like uncaring robots. It would also help if people who did not have people skills or common decency would be weeded out from positions where they would have power over others.
A stupid official mis-using their power. I hope they were given a good talking to and made to say sorry to the girl.
I think for that kind of stupidity they should lose their job.
Looks like common sense is dead with some people. "Too much law and not enough order," is a saying I coined back in the 1980's to cover crap like this. Unfortunately it looks like things have only gotten worse since then. Sad!
I love that saying!
I never got a copyright on it...so consider it public domain my friend! :-)
:)
I am disgusted by this kind of thing happening. This just shows how much freedom we have lost. As a society we should be applauding this kind of behaviour from our children. It's a wonderful learning experience and certainly more valuable than what children learn in "school".
Excuse me cause I guess I am a radical! I even wrote a post about this very thing and as a noobie I don't know if I am allowed to do this in a comment, but going to take the chance. Radical Grandma! The content I am going to link to is my own original work and here goes ... If I am not allowed to please forgive me and let me know.
https://steemit.com/money/@granblock/radical-entrepreneur-internet-grandma
Thanks for the "comment vote" - still new to me...
:)
It's OK if it is relevant :)
:)
Congratulations @thecryptofiend!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following category:
Thank you!
How can a 5 year old be issued with an endorsement fine? Surely in law there is a age limit.
I don't know. Maybe they can't but they can be harassed.
genial lo compartire en mi perfil
Thank you.
Yep, especially when it comes to children these days people think a reaction must be an overreaction. Common Sense RIP.
If you mean people have a tendency to overreact then I agree.
I do. I think overreaction is the default now. Blow every little thing up into a giant deal when it doesn't have to be. Which means that when something really turns out to be a big deal we'll be so jaded we won't react.
I don't think it is deliberate though - it is just incompetent people being put in positions of power and not being taken to task when they screw up.
@thecryptofiend amaizing story :)
Thank you.
Central and local governments are just awful! They are terrible at everything!
Well they seem to be bad at handling members of the public and children in particular.
@TheCryptoFiend... Thank You 4 writing this Post... there is almost nothing more powerful than humor, especially when pointing out the obvious AND the absurd...
Well Done TCF... Have a Good Week !!
Thank you!
That is so sad that the world had come to this, my jaw dropped also when I read this, she was trying to be enterprising at such a young age and she was shot doing for doing something so wonderful some people are so stupid it kills me, poor little girl resteem
Yes exactly. It is very sad.
I've grown to learn that common sense is rare and most people do not know of its existence
Sadly it seems to be getting rarer all the time.