A big story by Reuters this week focused on attempts by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to ban large, sugary soft drinks in New York City. Many say the move is too much intrusion by government into the personal life of citizens. In a push back against what he calls “out-of-control regulation crushing the entrepreneurial and charitable spirit of everday Americans,” former Fox television host and founder of GBTV.com, Glenn Beck, is calling for a different kind of civil disobedience. He is asking people nationwide to have a bake sale and to let their kids do a lemonade stand on June 13. He is calling the event the National Lemonade Stand and Bake Sale Hug-A-Thon.
People have already begun signing up to participate, including Lori Barrett from Dacula, Natalie Dominguez from Snellville, Lawrence Perkins from Tucker and John Dixon from Buford. Beck is selling a Restoring Love logo to go along with the lemonade stands to show solidarity with the cause. A portion of the proceeds from the logo will support Beck's Mercury One charity.
“Think back to when you were a kid and you can probably remember trying to run a lemonade stand. You learned a lot of things – most importantly that too much sugar can ruin your drink and that most people aren’t going to want to buy lemonade from a kid on the side of a street. But you also learned about the importance of earning money for an honest day’s work,” Beck wrote on GBTV.com.
So, do you think that the country has taken regulation to an extreme? Also, do you intend to participate in the Great Lemonade Stand and Bake Off on June 13? If so, let us know in comments.
I think we should always strive to find the right balance of government regulation. We obviously had too little regulation in the financial sector that lead to all sorts of shenanigans that resulted in a worldwide depression. Poor enforcement of regulations also led to the nations largest environmental disaster, a major salmonella outbreak, and has created a ticking time bomb in the nuclear energy industry. While I'm sure there are outdated regs that need to be revoked on the federal level, most of the truly silly regulations come from local government.