10-04-2009
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Subject: Volunteerism is not legal unless it is done under the
watchful eye of the government
Here is a story by Gregory S. Hession, J.D., posted on the
New American website:
It takes a village to raise a child, except when the government
gets involved. In a small rural Michigan township southeast of
Grand Rapids, Lisa Snyder volunteered to do a favor for a few
neighborhood mothers, and watch their children for an hour
before school so the mothers could get to work on time. She
helps them get to the bus safely, and does not take money for it.
A neighbor reported this activity to the Michigan Department of
Human Services (DHS), and in a spasm of regulatory over-kill, the
agency sent a cease-and-desist letter to Snyder right after the
school year started. In it, the DHS demanded that she stop
helping her neighbors by providing an "illegal daycare operation,"
because she was not a licensed day-care center.
A Michigan law prohibits persons from caring for unrelated
children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar
year unless they are licensed day-care providers. Violation of
the law is a criminal misdemeanor and can result in fines and
jail time.
After getting the letter, Snyder, a stay-at-home mother,
contacted the Department of Human Services, but she "got nowhere."
Somehow this situation came to the attention of higher-ups in the
government, and this week the Governor of Michigan, Jennifer
Granholm, publicly weighed in on the matter. She instructed the
agency Director, Ismael Ahmedm, to work with the State Legislature
to try to change the law.
Yesterday, Michigan State Rep. Brian Calley (R-Portland) said he
was working to draft legislation that would exempt situations
like Snyder's from coverage under Michigan's current day-care
regulations. "The bill will make it clear that people who aren't
in business as day care providers don't need to be licensed,"
Calley said.
Ironically, Snyder was threatened with jail for providing a service
to her community, a "crime" for which another tax-funded state
agency may bestow an award to her. The State of Michigan funds
the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC), whose mission
is to "build a culture of service by providing vision and
resources to strengthen communities through volunteerism," and
"to help individuals get involved in their local communities."
Outstanding volunteers are even given special service awards by
the Governor.
Apparently, volunteerism is not legal unless it is done under the
watchful eye of the government.
Just as is occurring with health care and student loans — to name
just two examples — governments at all levels work relentlessly
to eliminate private enterprise in every field of endeavor, including
voluntary ones. They remove these active areas of competition so that
they may then wield total regulatory control over that aspect of our
lives. And as this totalitarian creep marches forward, it eats away,
more and more, at our freedom and the ability to pursue our own
happiness.
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