How Becoming a Father Made Me Rethink My Libertarianism
Tag: child
Lemonade Stands: If You Think You’re Free, Think Again
As summer approaches, young entrepreneurs are likely to set up lemonade stands to make a little extra money. The police, however, are just as likely to shut down these innocent business projects.
The stories of police shutting down children’s entrepreneurial ventures seem to never end. This is not just an unnecessary obstacle, but an insult to the American Dream and the spirit of freedom.
Shutting Down Lemonade Stands is an Insult to Freedom
As an individual, I have the right to own property. I have a right to start a business so people can voluntarily purchase my products/services, and I don’t need your permission to do so. This also applies to children. Young minds are quite creative so long as no one suppresses it. It only makes sense that children use their creativity to make some spare money.
When the state shuts down a child’s ventures, however, it shows the true cruelty of government. They say you have to teach them while they’re young, so the government teaches children to obey or pay the price. This is not freedom. Rather, this is the rule through fear. It is the government claiming ownership of children.
The Costs of Permits Exterminates Young Entrepreneurs
As the government tears down another child’s dreams, one must wonder what the course of action this child can make is. If they want to continue, they will need a permit that can cost them hundreds of dollars and hours of their time. For small ventures like lemonade stands, the child does not have enough money to buy the permit and would not make enough money to warrant paying for it even if the child could. In other words, the government is teaching your child that business is not worth it.
Shutting Down Lemonade Stands is an Insult to Freedom
As an individual, I have the right to own property. I have a right to start a business so people can voluntarily purchase my products/services, and I don’t need your permission to do so. This also applies to children. Young minds are quite creative so long as no one suppresses it. It only makes sense that children use their creativity to make some spare money.
When the state shuts down a child’s ventures, however, it shows the true cruelty of government. They say you have to teach them while they’re young, so the government teaches children to obey or pay the price. This is not freedom. Rather, this is the rule through fear. It is the government claiming ownership of children.
The Costs of Permits Exterminates Young Entrepreneurs
As the government tears down another child’s dreams, one must wonder what the course of action this child can make is. If they want to continue, they will need a permit that can cost them hundreds of dollars and hours of their time. For small ventures like lemonade stands, the child does not have enough money to buy the permit and would not make enough money to warrant paying for it even if the child could. In other words, the government is teaching your child that business is not worth it.
Shutting Down Entrepreneurship Stunts Progress and Emboldens the Welfare State
As young people see the government crush their side hustles, they develop learned helplessness. They believe that there is no reason to fight for themselves, thus developing a dependency complex. By shutting down children’s lemonade stands, the government is guaranteeing that some children will lose the entrepreneurial spirit, stunting our growth as a society. But even worse, this guarantees that some children will grow up thinking that the only thing they can do for themselves is asking for help. By crushing their innocence while they are young, no child will ever ask “what if?” and create something amazing for themselves and for society at large. Lemonade Stands are proof of the entrepreneurial spirit! Celebrate it, don’t crush it.School Choice Awards Highlight Differences Between Private Initiative and Traditional Approaches
School Choice Awards Highlight Differences Between Private Initiative and Traditional Approaches
This article was featured in our weekly newsletter, the Liberator Online. To receive it in your inbox, sign up here. When freedom lays the groundwork for markets, colorful outbursts of creativity and efficacy can be seen, filling the air with sparkles. Not just figuratively.
Unfortunately for many children who now lack the opportunity to attend a school that meets their needs, many in America fail to see education as a market as well. Not because parents do not want to see results, but because special groups have, over the years, used education as a means to obtain political influence, oftentimes hurting the poorest among us. With their talk of making education a “right,” they helped to remove the market element, further hindering competition and, as a result, increasing the overall cost of education across the board.
In states like Arizona, where students have had the opportunity to experiment with the idea of school choice, even if just superficially, things seem to be getting better.
Because of the implementation of the charter school system in the state — a system that still relies on public funding — local public school students are able to “learn to speak Mandarin, study dance, [and even] become young engineers or delve into the medical sciences.”
Thanks in part to a more competitive educational environment, Arizona students have shown that adding private elements to the public school system helps to boost choice, creativity, and dedication, making the Grand Canyon state a leader in high school education.
One of the state’s charters is even among the country’s top 10 schools, according to the most recent “Best High School” ranking.
Recently, the Arizona Charter Schools Association celebrated the private element of the segment’s work, recognizing some of the best individuals involved in the private aspect of the charter school system.
During the event, President and CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association Eileen B. Sigmust gave a speech, claiming that what “these winners have in common is their innovative approach to education and committed focus to the success of their students.”
Unfortunately for countless students in less privileged areas of the country, public school teachers and leadership often fail to focus on these two factors, mostly because of a lack of incentives to ensure children excel — a problem often caused by teachers unions, whose main accomplishments often include providing teachers with paths to comfortable and unchallenged careers by basing their salary on seniority, failing to tie pay rate with performance.
During the Arizona Charter Schools Association’s 2016 Charter Awards event, teachers were praised for “[understanding and embracing the notion] that all students learn differently and [tailoring their] lessons to each child to ensure all students make growth in her classroom.”
While the system isn’t perfect, the clear differences of approach between the traditional schools and the charter system give us further proof of the importance of private ownership, and the role it plays in helping every single child have access to the education that better meets their needs.