Conservatives complain and roll their eyes all of the time about the hubris of “Big Government” and the multitude of rules, regulations, taxes, and the like that abound in the United States. If you look at how some of the rules and regulations are enforced, there is definitely room for improvement- a perfect example is the case of “The Lemonade Stand” in Oregon. The stand was owned and operated by 7-year-old Julie Murphy and was shut down by county health officials because she did not obtain the right license. While this is a small example, it seems indicative of the fact that at most levels of government, the US would rather go after the “little guy” than the real criminals.

I get it that times are tough, the economy is in shambles, and messages must be sent. The government has to get their money from somewhere.

Oregon state generates much of its income from a state income tax- I wonder if the state will try to get their hands on Julie Murphy’s income as well. Maybe they will try to catch her for not reporting her income or for working while she is under-aged.

Of course, the real issue is money and not the letter of the law.

By all means, I think that the city, county, state, and feds should throw the books at Julie Murphy and her lemonade stand. Why should the health department waste their time on real restaurants and businesses when they can focus on lemonade stands?

The same is true at the national level. Often, the government seems to go after small-time tax criminals while letting the big-time criminals go free.

Why should the IRS worry about the real, corporate criminals like the banks, big-money tax evaders that could equal large sources of revenue when the Government (definitely with a capital “G”) can get a few dollars here and there?

Getting a couple hundred from the occasional tax offender will definitely help close the gaps in the budget, won’t it? Surely that is a better idea than investigating the contractors in Iraq or in checking the Pentagon’s accounting measures, which I hear are slightly less than accurate. (Last I heard, the Pentagon misplaced almost $9 billion).

Let’s continue to hold the average Americans accountable for their actions while letting the real criminals of the big corporations, financial institutions, war contractors and the richest people in the world rip us off- that’s what I like to call the American way.

Of course, I do understand the differences between local, state, and federal government, but even at the local level, I am 100% positive that there are bigger criminals to go after than a 7-year-old and her lemonade stand.