Eight-year-old Daniela Earnest [article link] wants to go to Disney Land in California. She wanted to go very bad. So, like any eight-year old during the summer, she opened up a lemonade stand at a busy intersection in Tulare, CA. But, before she could even sell the first glass of lemonade, a "code enforcement officer" shut down the stand and the entrepreneurial spirit of the eight-year old. The officer told her she was at an intersection that was not safe and she "did not have a business license" to run the lemonade stand. I don't even know how to respond to that. Well...yes, yes I do. Is it safe for beggars at these dangerous intersections holding up "Will work for food" signs? Probably not. How about people collecting money for charities, such as a policeman's fund, just as an example? Probably not. The officer was probably right in that it was not a safe area. It was a busy area and a "business" will naturally gravitate to where there are potential customers. So, I can't argue too much that Daniela was not in a safe area, although her step-mother was right there with her.

What I find preposterous is that she was told she needed a damn business license for a lemonade stand. There is something un-American about requiring a kid to have a license to sell lemonade during the summer for some reason. I am happy to report a radio station in Tulare said they would give Daniella and her family tickets to Disney Land in exchange for 30 cups of lemonade. That was great for Daniella and family, not to mention some great publicity for the radio station. As far as I can tell, the IRS hasn't said they were going to storm Daniella's business for not paying taxes on that lemonade sold to the radio station. But, I can't say that would surprise me in this day and time when a kid needs a license to have a lemonade stand.