Those Who Do And Those Who Don't

By Adolfo Jimenez

I am a small business owner. Small, of course, is a relative term. While my business is not as big as

Amazon or AT&T, it is pretty big to me. I own two corporations with four distinct lines of business.

I work quite hard, even when things are slow and there is not much to do.

In my life as a business owner, I have created jobs, and I’ve fired people or let people go.

I have created millions of dollars in value, I have served countless customers, and I have, of course,

paid more than my fair share of taxes. It’s okay, I’m happy to help those less willing than myself. 

I can live with the taxes. No, I can’t. No need to lie, it doesn’t further the story or prove anything.

I pay taxes because I would rather not have the problems that come with not paying taxes like going to jailor having my stuff seized by the state.

Makes sense, right?

But taxes are only one of the unfair burdens placed on business owners in the land of the free.

The burdens people don’t talk about as much as they should are of the regulatory kind. The amount of

paperwork, licensing, expense and inconvenience one must endure to run a business is staggering, and it’s

expensive both in terms of time and treasure.

One of my businesses is a food truck. It’s exactly what you think it is: a kitchen on wheels.

I invested quite a bit of money into this truck and she’s a beauty. I drive her around town and park in any

available spot, fire up the griddle, and sling them burgers and dogs like nobody’s business! Ha! J/K! LOL!

That’s not at all how it works. I wish it were but wishing doesn’t make it so!

I live in Hollywood, Florida, which is in Broward County, you know, the place that can’t count votes.

Well, not the only one, but the original, as established in 2000.

In order to operate my food truck, I need to be licensed by: the State of Florida, Broward County,

and just about every city within the county that I do business in. I also work in neighboring Miami-Dade

County, so I have to be registered with them as well as most of the cities within that county.

I also have to have a certification that I can handle food in a safe manner.

I need to have my fire suppression system and fire extinguishers inspected and certified and of course

I have to pay to renew the food truck’s registration every year.

Each of these registrations takes time and money to acquire. That’s right, I have to pay the government

for the right to run my business, and, more insulting, to collect taxes on their behalf. I saved my pennies to

start my business, I buy the supplies, prepare, and market them. I sweat my tail off in that mobile kitchen

which is made of metal and is parked all day in the Florida sun.

No one from the government helps me do this, but if I don’t give them their 7%, they will destroy me. 

I recently negotiated a deal to park my food truck in a semi-permanent location within the city of Hollywood.

I called the city to ask what I would need to provide them in order to receive their permission to earn a living

and feed my family. The lady on the phone placed me on hold while she gathered the information. 

Several minutes later she came back on the line and told me I had to come into city hall, room 103 and bring:

The lease agreement with the property owner.

A copy of the license issued by the state of Florida.

A copy of my liability insurance.

She was also kind enough to inform me that my food truck must not be in one location longer than four hours.Thoughtful!

So I gathered these things and took them to room 103.

I was told by the clerk in the office that I had to fill out the application online. This clerk also told me I couldn’t

be in one place for more than 30 minutes. I told her she must be mistaken, that I was told four hours and

that it takes more than 30 minutes just to get my truck ready. She went to a back room and five minutes

later came back and told me that I was correct. Four hours was acceptable. Not to me, but to the city and

that’s what really matters. We must please our overlords.

I also learned while at city hall that I needed to provide my articles of incorporation

(which are public information available free of charge to anyone with an internet connection.)

The clerk on the phone hadn’t bothered to tell me that little detail so I would have had to return either way.

I ran a few errands, got home a couple of hours later and filled out the application online in five minutes.

I also had to pay $55 for the privilege of collecting taxes. $25 of that was a non-refundable application fee.

It’s been two days since I submitted the application and I have not yet received a reply.

Either way, I’m out 25 bucks!

I invested tens of thousands of dollars in my business. I work around the clock trying to be successful.

I sacrifice things like time with my family to make my business work. So why should a clerk with a

secure, unionized government job have the power to stop me dead in my tracks?

Why should those of us who produce be forced to pay those who do nothing of value for permission to do

what we do? Why should a person who has never had to worry about meeting payroll or finding money for

supplies have any say in how I go about my business? The short answer is they shouldn’t. Sadly, they can,

because we have allowed them to.

Somewhere along the line, Americans stopped being bold. We became convinced that the only way to

maintain our standard of living and our security was by paying for these things using the only currency we

had: our liberty. My fear is that too many of us don’t see this and so we continue on down the slippery slope

and we won’t know where we’re going until we get there. Unfortunately, we can slide into this mess, but we

won’t be able to slide out. 

The producers are at the mercy of those who produce nothing. Government has been weaponized against

those of us who are just trying to get on with our lives. And it has all been allowed and voted into existence

by well-meaning ignorant citizens who never stopped to measure how much of their freedom and treasure

has been taken from them.