Reply #28: Here's the real scoop on that Florida story

[prolesunited]

Here's the real scoop on the Florida incident -- of course the story was blown out of proportion by those anxious to portray government as out of control.
That IS part of their agenda -- make people see the government as incompetent, overbearing and moronic -- basically, the enemy since their agenda is to shrink the size of government. If people have an unfavorable view of government, they'll cheer when it's removed from their lives.
They certainly don't want people to think that government could play an important role in improving the quality of people's lives by spending money on health care, education or infrastructure or social service programs that aid disenfranchised populations.
What I don't get is why so many people here are willing to fall for this distortion.
Anyway, here's the real story about the Florida situation:
NAPLES - As portrayed nationwide, the story of the little lemonade girl, the nasty neighbor and big, ugly government goes something like this: A 6-year-old girl in sweltering Southwest Florida tries to make a little summer money by starting a lemonade stand. A crabby neighbor demands that the stand be licensed or shut down. Heavy-handed police officers force the child out of business.
<snip>
For starters, police didn't really shut down the stand, much less arrest any children, as some have claimed. And the city had granted the license without a fee long before the first word about the controversy was broadcast or printed. In truth, it's a rather pedestrian tale of a long-running neighborhood dispute over a carport radio and a neighbor who retaliated for months of complaints from next door by reluctantly asking police to check on the stand.
<snip>
While there are four neighborhood children who work the stand regularly, most of the attention, and promotion, has fallen on Avigayil. She went on Letterman, has given countless interviews and is now going to be the national representative for the Kids Only! Sunny Day Play Lemonade Stand ($24.99), a plastic, ready-to-operate lemonade stand. The boxes will soon carry Avigayil's photo. "It's been a wild ride, and Avi might just get college paid for out of it," Shaw said.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/17/State/Squeezing_a_spat_for_.shtml