Texas cops shut down cute kids' lemonade stand for being "illegal"

Nothing’s cuter than a kid steeped in Milton Friedman. Avid fans of Tyler, Texas’ ABC affiliate learned Wednesday of free-wheelin’ open-market capitalists Andria and Zoey Green (ages 7 and 8, respectively) first-ever encounter with government narcs. It won’t be the last time, kids — just wait until you have to pay taxes! Via ABC 13:

Police in Texas shut down a lemonade stand run by two little girls. They said it was illegal.

Andria and Zoey Green told ABC affiliate KLTV they were trying to raise about $100 for a Father’s Day present. They wanted to take him to Splash Kingdom.

They had been selling lemonade and kettle corn for an hour – and made about $25 – when officers showed up and told them they need a $150 permit to sell their lemonade.

Texas House Bill 970, or the Texas Baker’s Bill, does not allow the sale of food that needs time or temperature control to prevent it from spoiling. Since lemonade needs to be refrigerated to prevent bacteria growth, police said they needed an inspection from the health department and a permit to sell it.

The Tyler Morning Telegraph wrote a 725-word follow-up story, dedicated to rectifying the grave injustice of enforcing the state’s health code:

The Green sisters, 7 and 8 years old, learned about city government Monday, when Overton Police Chief Clyde Carter shutdown the stand citing a city ordinance requiring them to have a peddler’s permit.

Yep, they sure learned about city government. If you learned anything here, kids, it’s that the city government sucks.