Good News for Young Lemonade Stand Entrepreneurs

Every summer there are news stories about local authorities shutting down children’s lemonade stands over lack of licenses, permits, a lack of restaurant-grade kitchen or cleaning facilities, a zoning violation…the list is long. I wrote about this outrage back in 2011 here, and Iain Murray and I wrote a Townhall column here. Regulators are still at it, though. But now, junior entrepreneurs have gained a powerful ally.

Country Time Lemonade has offered to help pay fines and permits for young lemonade stand entrepreneurs who incur regulators’ wrath. Its Legal-Ade program will pay up to $300 to help families fight back against absurd regulations. In fact, each time this tweet is retweeted, Country Time will donate a dollar to the Legal-Aide program, up to $500,000.

Is this is a cynical, profit-driven marketing ploy? Absolutely. But so what? It will do some real good, and that’s what counts. Results are what matter, not intentions. This is not a new idea. As Bernard Mandeville pointed out in “The Fable of the Bees” way back in 1732, selfish intentions can generate altruistic results. As with bees, so with lemons.

When regulators bust children for learning work and business skills while having fun outdoors, they teach children the wrong lesson. By helping to set matters right, Country Time is helping children learn that it’s okay to show initiative, and that it’s okay to stand up to authority when you’re right and they’re wrong. Even the most hardened anti-capitalist can get behind that.

Also deserving kudos: Domino’s Pizza, for filling in potholes on its delivery routes that lazy local governments let linger. Who will build the roads? Now we know.