GOVERNMENT DOES NOT SOLVE PROBLEMS: GOVERNMENT IS THE PROBLEM
Mary Lou Atkinson and her twenty-two year old son Joe Morel opened Cake and Candy Designs, a small business located in Jupiter, Florida. The mother and son hand make and sell, for takeout, candies and pastries.
Friday, Aug. 26 2011, on page one section B, Bill Dipaolo of the Palm Beach Post published an article entitled, Grease Trap Flap. Mr. Dipaolo documents the plight of a small business owner, Mary Lou Atkinson and her fight against local government bureaucracy and a group of elected, loco bureaucrats.
Friday, Aug. 26 2011, on page one section B, Bill Dipaolo of the Palm Beach Post published an article entitled, Grease Trap Flap. Mr. Dipaolo documents the plight of a small business owner, Mary Lou Atkinson and her fight against local government bureaucracy and a group of elected, loco bureaucrats.
After searching in vain for work, many Americans are now faced with only a few choices; go on government assistance, start a business or, God forbid, turn to crime in order to survive. Mary Lou and Joe should be applauded for choosing to become entrepreneurs in order to financially survive this terrible economy. Mary Lou is quoted, “I’m just trying to keep my place open and help my son earn a living.”
Not so fast Mary Lou. In 1984 the Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District was formed. Apparently this five member elected board was added as another layer of government regulators to assist the E.P.A., S.F.W.M.D., Health Department, Sierra Club, et al, to save the public from the dastardly private business sector bent on polluting our water supplies and fouling the air we breath.
At issue is the Cake and Candies 8 gallon inside grease trap. The executive director of L.R.E.C.D., a wonderful fellow named Albrey Arrington, claims that the district requires all commercial businesses that serve food to have 750 GALLON OUTDOOR GREASE TRAPS! The reason, says the genius Arrington, is that they are safer because indoor traps can be bypassed with hoses. Has he ever heard of spot checks and inspections? I guess these little government bureaucrats must, from time to time, justify their existence. “We’ll pursue all legal actions against them.” Say’s Albrey Arrington. Wow, government officials wielding power are so impressive! He should be very proud of himself indeed! One must wonder; what is the annual cost of this 5 member board? How much do the taxpayers spend for this local layer of government to hold and tally the elections?
Mary and Joe say that the grease trap in question could cost them as much as ten thousand dollars, thus putting them out of business. They claim that another nearby bakery in Tequesta was granted a variance from the little bureaucrats demands. Arrington claims that the variance was a clear mistake. Was it a mistake or a momentary attack of commonsense? Or is it possible that a personal or business connection between someone on this board of little bureaucrats and someone at the Tequesta bakery exists? Is there the possibility of payola being involved? Does the board simply prefer the yummy cupcakes of the Tequesta store? Has the Tequesta bakery, lacking a 750 GALLON GREASE TANK, sent barrels of grease floating down the Loxahatchee River?
Anytime government peons get involved in the commerce of private enterprise and favor some businesses over others, these kinds of questions will arise. Ever hear of a little company that pays no taxes called G.E. and run by Obama’s buddy Jeffery Immelt? Immelt is on Obama’s board of Economic Advisors for job creation even while sending thousands of his company's, G.E.’s, manufacturing jobs involving aerospace and medical equipment overseas to China (see the Huffington Post report of 1/12/2011, Obama and Immelt). Crony Capitalism is usually the product of government regulators impinging on the free market, but now I digress.
In a previous posting, I wrote a fictional satire entitled You Might be a Democrat that described government regulators putting two women out of business. The Grease Trap Flap reported by Bill Dipaolo is a real life account of government destroying an American business. The irony is that it is small businesses like these that provide the majority of jobs to the American worker; generating tax revenue to fund the government. This tax revenue pays for layer upon layer of government bureaucracy and allows the multitude of little, mindless, pinhead regulators that work there to cash their paychecks. As government brings down more and more small business, more government workers will lose jobs due to lack of funds.
Isn't it rich that morons like Arrington in the name of environmental protection will contribute to the loss of public sector jobs in the South Florida Water Management District? The very people who work to control and improve not only the river but all the drainage, flow and water quality in the district will lose their jobs as government stifles small and large business across the nation. Obama has proposed the institution of 457 new government regulations so far. The effects can be seen locally as reported in the Post. See the Palm Beach Post's report by Christine Stapleton of 8/12/2011 Water District Cuts where 123 jobs were cut due to lack of tax revenue and 1750 water workers wait to see who’s next.
Isn't it rich that morons like Arrington in the name of environmental protection will contribute to the loss of public sector jobs in the South Florida Water Management District? The very people who work to control and improve not only the river but all the drainage, flow and water quality in the district will lose their jobs as government stifles small and large business across the nation. Obama has proposed the institution of 457 new government regulations so far. The effects can be seen locally as reported in the Post. See the Palm Beach Post's report by Christine Stapleton of 8/12/2011 Water District Cuts where 123 jobs were cut due to lack of tax revenue and 1750 water workers wait to see who’s next.
I consider myself a staunch support of environmental protection, but lets keep it real. A 750-gallon tank is the size of a car! How long would it take for Mary Lou to fill that baby up? How much grease can this type and size business produce? Mr. Arrington put away your power trip and take a hobby.
I want to thank Bill Dipaolo for finding and reporting this story. Maybe there is hope or the Post after all. I will remove 20 points from the Palm Beach Post’s Suckometer Ranking thanks to Mr. Dipaolo's fine reporting.
