Posted on 08/11/2012 7:40:45 AM PDT by mom4kittys
Nathan Duszynski, a 13-year-old whose hot dog cart was shut down by city officials in Holland, Mich., is now homeless, along with his disabled parents.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy first reported the story.
Nathan had saved up money for a hot dog cart to help his parents pay their bills. His mother suffers from epilepsy and his father suffers from multiple sclerosis, limiting their ability to work.
The family survives on $1,300 a month in disability assistance, food stamps and medicaid, but has struggled to stay afloat.
“Nate and I are now in a shelter,” Nathan’s mother Lynette Johnson said.
“[Nathan’s father] can’t stay with us because he takes prescription narcotics to deal with his pain and the shelter does not allow him with those kinds of drugs,” she said.
The 13-year-old had worked out an arrangement to sell hot dogs in the parking lot of a local sporting goods store. His mom felt the location was great since it was on private property, so his age wouldn’t be an impediment.
Before opening up shop, Johnson said, they stopped by city hall, just across the street from the cart’s location, to ask if they needed a permit to sell food. His mother explained that a woman at city hall told her no permit was necessary.
The business was short-lived and the city of Holland shut down the stand 10 minutes after it opened. Zoning officials cited laws that prohibit food carts in the commercial district that are not connected to downtown brick and mortar restaurants.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Sounds more like anti-competition, rent-seeking influence buying.
“Then they shouldn’t have given him the permit in the first place. Yes he had the required permits until your nazi brethren got their panties in a wad over it.”
They are correcting their mistakes, so it is you who is getting her panties in a wad over a sob, politically charged, story.
Maybe that's the Duszynskis' problem.
Parking lots are for parking cars, not leasing spaces. That bit is clear according to the town’s explicit zoning laws. Tomorrow, the parking lot could have a circus, outdoor veggie garden, a chicken farm, and another sob story to cry over.
If they truly want businesses in the parking lots, change the laws.
Oh, and I ain't crying Sparky.
“I don’t know where you live, but I see all kinds of sales, flea markets, fireworks stands, food trucks, etc in parking lots. Maybe I’m just more exposed to freedom than you are.
Oh, and I ain’t crying Sparky.”
Where you live, there are not zoning laws. In Holland’s case, they clearly do. Are you to tell a town what your idea of “freedom” is by forcing them to overlook their zoning laws?
No, I avoid petty fiefdoms like this place. They're boring, staid places where the young people leave at the first chance.
Trust me, Holland MI is about as ambitious a place as Greece.
What guild do you belong to?
I really do not disagree with you on that. May be the kid is better off leaving that place and go where his parking lot stall is allowed.
You’d like my little town. When the county was trying to get the townships to impose a series of ordinances against burning, unlicensed cars etc, our township supervisor said it would be pointless because the people would just ignore the ordinances anyway.
LOL
And I see the need for zoning laws of some sort. Admittedly, it’s a difficult balance.
By what right do these corrupt government bureaucrats have to dictate to us and to businesses what we must do, what business we can open , what we can buy ( like healthcare that we must and a soda that we can't)? That is not freedom that is tyranny. To hell with all government bureaucrats . they are the enemy. they have no right to tell anyone what age they can work , or what business can be opened (like chik fil at) or what size soda you can drink or that you must buy health insurance.
Government at all levels must be reduced to almost nothing. that means immediately abolishing the IRS, then the EPA, then the government schools. And then keep going at all levels of government until 99% of these freedom robbing and prosperity killing government agencies ( monstrosities) are no more.
Why do democrats trust government? Look at the hell that government created with the government public housing projects, the government schools, the IRS , the EPA, shall I go on?
This is America. Give me liberty or give me death. I hate government and government bureaucrats
Should zoning laws be criminalized? They are in Montana.
Selective enforcement is dicktatorship(sic).
The comments about the $2500 were written “after” the story was written.
Some folks are all about law and order, until they read crap like this. So, I am all for free enterprise, but the town has a right to limit outdoor vendors as well. This is nothing new. If the kid went to the town hall to get. License, he would have found this out. And yes, I think kids that set up a professional food stand should be held to the same standards s anyone else.
From the article at the top of the thread, in plain view:
"Before opening up shop, Johnson said, they stopped by city hall, just across the street from the cart’s location, to ask if they needed a permit to sell food. His mother explained that a woman at city hall told her no permit was necessary."
The story was written yesterday, the cart was sold at a huge profit at least weeks ago according to TV news stories. I don’t know when this strange story actually started.
July 27, 2012 “A packaging company heard about the boy’s troubles and bought the truck for $2,500. That’s a lot more than Duszynski paid for it.”
(snip)
“The company plans to let Duszynski use the cart for special occasions, such as the wedding he already has lined up.”
You're right. I understand the situation of businessmen in a small, shrinking town, but government should not be eliminating competition for them.
More business is a good thing.
I’ve also got a real problem with local businessmen or anyone else dictating what happens on a public street.
A few years ago in Oakland Michigan an organizer of a street festival declared that open carry would not be tolerated because they had paid for closing the street. The city council sided with the event organizers but it didn’t take long before they dropped it and decided to “allow” open carry at the event.
In this case its obviously different but its still no way to teach this kid about free market entrepreneurship. Plus there’s the issue of the sporting goods store that welcomed him, He does pay the taxes.
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