Professor Mark J. Perry's Blog for Economics and Finance
I posted recently about how you apparently can't give away free food to poor children in Philadelphia or distribute free food to the homeless in Houston without a permission slip from the government. Here's another story about a Phoenix woman who was told by a city official that she was violating city code by giving away free bottled water in the downtown area without a permit during 112-degree heat.
Dr. Mark J. Perry is a professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan. Perry holds two graduate degrees in economics (M.A. and Ph.D.) from George Mason University near Washington, D.C. In addition, he holds an MBA degree in finance from the Curtis L. Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. In addition to a faculty appointment at the University of Michigan-Flint, Perry is also a visiting scholar at The American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
11 Comments:
It may be another assault on Christianity by a pagan, who wouldn't be happy working at a real job.
What are the odds that some convience store owner or food vendor (restaurateur, grocer, etc) filed a complaint with the authorities due to the possibility that these 'freebies' might be having an impact on sales?
40% of U.S. food wasted, report says
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/22/40-of-u-s-food-wasted-report-says/
(a) "It may be another assault on Christianity by a pagan, who wouldn't be happy working at a real job."
(b) "What are the odds that some convience store owner or food vendor (restaurateur, grocer, etc) filed a complaint with the authorities due to the possibility that these 'freebies' might be having an impact on sales?"
I choose answer b.
"40% of U.S. food wasted, report says"
From the report:
"Food represents a small portion of many Americans' budgets, making the financial cost of wasting food too low to outweigh the convenience of it," the report says. "This issue of wasted food is simply not on the radar of many Americans, even those who consider themselves environment- or cost-conscious."
Only a group like NRDC could find families spending an ever smaller percentage of their budget on food to be a problem.
Only a group like NRDC could find farmers growing more than they expect to sell, as a precaution against potential losses, to be a problem.
Only a group like NRDC could suggest that they know better than I do how large a portion I should have on my plate.
What nonsense.
It would be interesting to know how many precious resources were wasted by NRDC in conducting this study.
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It's like the Statist version of the old Milton Friedman addage:
"THERE SHALL BE NO such thing as a free lunch" -by Decree of your Government
Juandos, that may be true. Also, perhaps, the Christians were trying to convert pagans at the Art's festival, which may be an annoyance to some.
If it was about a tattle tale vendor, I wonder if the city official explained to the Christians some people are trying to make a living.
With a little imagination and a couple of extra brain cells, shop owners would realize that the distribution of labelled bottled water is providing a free advertising service, that one would think, would intop increase their sales. One could argue that a few " free giveaways" from a high production company could be defined as the surplus that Adam Smith describes which would have been available for distribution anyway, simply as a result of the company doing what it does best, I.e. producing lots of bottled water, From a public health point of view, prevention is better than cure. Maintaining hydration is critical to kidney function. ( I know a little something about this , as my grandfather built the world's first or second functional dialysis machine ) the imperative to prevent a health problem should override any bureau dribble, Does this good samaratin woman have a legal case that could be brought forward against the local government ? It might go something like this : If the children are at risk of a major health issue, and the woman was administering, what I think could accurately be described as first aid, then by attempting to prevent the distribution of water, the govt. has placed a future expensive burden on the hospital system. Consider this : if the woman was an ambulance officer, or registered nurse, or a Doctor, would not the govt. be guilty of attempting to interfere with the responsibilities of a health professional ? Something along those lines. Even if the woman had just done a first aid course, where the hydration issue is a critical topic, she would have been taught that there is a responsibility to show initiative in such a situation. Medical imperative overrides govt. every time, pretty much.
"If it was about a tattle tale vendor, I wonder if the city official explained to the Christians some people are trying to make a living"...
Interesting thought there pt but 'if' my experiences are anything to go by I just can't envision that city official being smart enough to make that leap...
" If the children are at risk of a major health issue, and the woman was administering, what I think could accurately be described as first aid, then by attempting to prevent the distribution of water, the govt. has placed a future expensive burden on the hospital system"...
Well john smith what I fail to see in your well thought out and well written comment is where personal responsibility comes in...
Just where are those adults that spawned those thirsty kids and why aren't they making sure said kids are being hydrated?
Is it respnsible behavior on the part of the adults to take a chance on the possibility that 'freebies' will be available?
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