Regulating Businesses Into The Ground

Six years ago, the Dollarhite family of Nixa, Missouri wanted to teach their son a few ecomonic lessons.  So they obtained a couple of rabbits (one male and one female), and started breeding them on their three acre property.  Word spread that the Dollarhites had rabbits for sale, and folks began to buy.  Last year was their most profitable year; they did approximately $4,600, and netted $200 in profits for the entire year.

Now the USDA has notified the Dollarhites they must pay a fine of $90,000.  Why?  Because they sold more than $500 in bunnies in one calendar year.  If they do not pay the fine, they may be subject to fines ranging in the millions!

In this era of doublespeak, governments tell us frequently they are pro-business.  They claim to be especially pro-small-business.  However, when you delve into the regulations every small business and start-up operation faces, the challenges are daunting.  Try confronting a local government official at the city or county level with this information and most of the time they will sympathize, pat you on the back, and urge you to comply with the list of taxes, fees and regulations they claim to hate.  It's a double standard.

We can't have it both ways.  Either government is going to have to back off taxing, feeing and regulating, or business will move elsewhere.  Greeley Report knows businesses that are ready to move out of Greeley, Evans, Weld County and other areas simply because of the local control.  Send this article to your local officials.  Let them know that if they look more like the USDA than a helpful, pro-business leader, they can soon start a new business of their own.  And it won't be as an elected official.  (Link here to article.)

Comments

[Rey]

And I'm still waiting for Dennis to point to anything specific Greeley did to destroy his business. This is no place for intellectual capacity, but maybe we can cause those who lack intellect to take on a little humility.

[LoverofGod]

bobby j...I rest my case. Every time I post a question or concern regarding the "Dollarhite" article, you completely miss the point.
Have you noticed all the normal supporters of this site not supporting your position? It's because they, like myself, understand that you have no clue about what I'm asking. No one with any kind of intellect can misconstrue my point...yet you seem to be able to do that on a continuing basis.

It's clear that an intellectual discussion with you is impossible.

While I disagree with most of the posters on this site, they at least, are able to articulate their position.

[Bobby J.]

HoG,

Where is the diseased Dollarhite rabbit you mention and where is the infected girl? Oh I see, they are figments of your imagination.

Sure, your students snicker every day to each other as they look at you and say to each other, you can’t argue with that idiot.

[LoverofGod]

Again, a non answer. I hope the daughter in my scenerio doesn't catch something from a diseased rabbit.

You are the example I gave to my students..."You can't win an argument with an idiot." I was hoping you would engage the conversation...I realize I gave you multiple chances but you still can't answer a simple question.

You have proven yourself to be just the idiot I was referring to. I shall engage you no longer as you are incapable of understanding a cause-and-effect scenario.

May God have mercy on your soul...you're going to need it.

[Bobby J.]

HoG,

DOA, DOE, FAA, USDA one in the same. DOA is Department of Agriculture.

Sure there are bad people. Will a customer by sick, diseased animals or healthy animals from somebody they know and trust?

Markets have the amazing power to punish the bad guy and reward the good guy. Markets do this with far more accuracy and constantly than any combination of Federal letters.

What Bible do you read; the one I read is about people escaping government, not fleeing to it.

Did you come up with that one pissed off Dollarhite customer, didn’t think so.

[LoverofGod]

O.K., I'll try again.
The article was about a small bussinessman being fined for not having a license issued by the USDA(where in the hell you come up with DOA is anyones guess).
He and his son raised rabbits and sold them to pet stores...they neglected to get a license(so that they could be inspected to make sure they were raised humanly and disease free)as required by the USDA.
Are you maintaining that the father and son shouldn't need a license? That the USDA is abusive(your words)and should "butt out" of their business enterprise? Are you saying that small business owners are honest and would never, ever do anything to put the purchasing public in danger?

There, that is fairly straightforward...we are dealing with the facts of the article. The puppy mill analogy was intended to make the "situation" easier to understand for readers and posters. Obviously you missed those parts of my posts.

Read this entire post and try to focus and answer the questions I posed.

I can't imagine how you'll misinterpret this latest post, but I'm fairly certain you'll try.

[Bobby J.]

HoG,

Puppy Mills are your attempt to change the subject. We are talking about DOA, abusive government and rabbits.

Provide just one disgruntled rabbit customer. Just one dissatisfied Dollarhite rabbit customer. JUST ONE!

[Bobby J.]

HoG,

Your endless ramblings prove one thing; your existence is subsidized by the producer. Go get a job you faithless free loader.

[LoverofGod]

bobby j...thanks for confirming what i originally thought about you.

Avoid answering the question by changing the subject. The answer is obvious. Rather than address the issue of government interference or small business doing what they want without oversight, you change focus.

You state, nobody is talking about a puppy mill. Doh. The story we started to comment on dealt with unlicensed animal vendors. You stated that the customer should make the decision on whether the pet store has disease-free animals, whether they are raised in a humane manner, etc.

I asked about your stance regarding puppy mills and virtually every comment from you and dennis deals with other things. Rather than answer a simple question, you both choose to not answer and go off in another direction.

Why is that? Are you afraid to admit that the government should have some control over small businesses.

I'm still waiting.

We can address my adherence to the teachings of Jesus and both you and dennis' stances regarding your psuedo-christian beliefs at a later time. For now, let's discuss what the original article addressed.

[Bobby J.]

Here is to HOG and the other statist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGgyb5kPMlk

[Bobby J.]

Nobody is talking about a puppy mill other than hater of God.

Typical liberal strawman!

This hater of God is the same douchebag nozzle statist who got the Tribune shutdown and now it is here.

[Bobby J.]

Rey wrote: I'm a successful business owner with no grievance against Greeley other than our lack of citizens who posses the ability and desire to think critically.

To Rey: What kind of buisiness or at least the sector?

[Bobby J.]

To Lover of God,

You have no faith. You are an atheist pretending to love God.

I have no idea who Brett, Sam or Greeley report is. They allow me to post here, uncensored and for that I am grateful.

FDA, Department of Agriculture, DOE, they are all the same. Many fingers of the State.

Now go get a life you Godless Statists.

I dare you, print here a passage from the Bible and also profess your love of Jesus. I double dare you!

[Rey]

Dennis,

I'm sorry your business failed, but you can't point to a single code section or regulation applicable in Greeley that isn't worse in Loveland or Ft. Collins. Not one. Your business didn't fail because of politics, Muslims, illegal immigrants, Democrats, or the 12 Swiss conspirators. You'll be happier when you accept this truth. Greeley is only prohibitive to medical marijuana stores and strip clubs. I'm a successful business owner with no grievance against Greeley other than our lack of citizens who posses the ability and desire to think critically.

[LoverofGod]

dennis...one very, very simple question.

Do you agree with the articles assertion OR do you side with the USDA?

Your answer, if you've got the cajones to answer will tell me all I need to know now and in the future about your personality and human makeup.

Too many regulations for small businesses or puppy mills are O.K. with you?

No waffling...government oversight on the article is acceptable and the animal vendor deserves what he gets for trying to "beat the system" or let the buyer beware regarding the furry critters.

I will comment on your answer as soon as I read it. Think carefully.

There is absolutely NO middle ground. None.

[Dennis]

Rey,

Ever try to sell anything in Greeley (and I'm not talking about a garage sale)? Ever go on Craig's List seeking a job? Just for fun you should do that. Try to find a sales job in Greeley. You may find an occasional add for a sales position in Greeley, but you will find that a vast majority of those positions are in Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont. Now why is it that Greeley has a greater population than Loveland, but Loveland offers more jobs?

I succeeded in a business in Greeley for 14 years; however, that business had no customers in Greeley. My business served other manufacturers. Not one customer in Greeley. I know all too well, from experience, that Greeley is anti-business. Greeley wants business, but Greeley also wants too much control over business. I attribute that to small-town politics, small thinking and obsession with control. Greeley has an inferiority complex.

[Dennis]

LoG,

I'm going to guess that you live in your parents basement. You graduated high school last year and you are having difficulty finding a job. You most certainly display a sophomoric attitude. It is clear that you have much to learn about the world we live in. I would like to compliment your efforts however misguided they be.

Perhaps someday you will want to start a business. Then you will be amazed at the red tape and bureaucracy that you will have to overcome, just to open your doors.

I would recommend that before you deride someone's position on the real adult world that you educate yourself. Experience is the best.

Until then remember, God gave you two ears, but only one mouth. Keep in mind that mouth has many duties; breathing, eating and even kissing. A good filter for the mouth, before speaking, is the brain. One can speak compulsively, or one can think before one speaks.

Good luck, and God bless you.

[LoverofGod]

Bobby J...did you graduate fifth grade?

The FDA? Customer goes into pet store to buy a beautiful furry creature for his 6 year old daughter...that customer can tell if the vendor who sold that furry bundle to the pet store isn't raising disease infested pets? And don't give me that the customer can tell if it's sick.

Let's see, maybe the vendor keeps the cute, cuddly babies in overstocked cages so he can make more profit. Hmmm, you gotta love no regulations on businesses, right? What about puppy mills...O.K. by you?

If you're a potential customer who doesn't care what kind of animal you're buying because you don't believe in regulation of small businesses then you are just plain ignorant. If you believe puppy mills are all right because the private sector will eventually "even things out," then you are worse than ignorant. You are simply an uncaring human being who cares nothing about the animal you are purchasing. Or for that matter, the potential health problems your daughter may encounter because of an unregulated vendor.

Which is it, Bobby J...hmmm? (or brett/sam for that matter)

[Bobby J.]

The custoemr would better ferit out bad animals than the FDA.

[Rey]

"Greeley Report knows businesses that are ready to move out of Greeley, Evans, Weld County and other areas simply because of the local control."

Really? Which ones? Or, just identify the kind of business and the problematic "local control" of which you complain.

[LoverofGod]

How about, just once brett/sam, tell the ENTIRE story. BOTH SIDES. Not just the one that you think will ellict sympathy for "your side of the story."

Do you seriously think that any seller should be able to go into a pet store and sell them their products? Is that the kind of "business" you want left alone?

With the logic brett/sam follow, it must be O.K. to have puppy mills. It's a small business, no need for a license so that the USDA can check on the operation for health, contamination, breeding conditions, etc.

USDA spokesman Dave Sacks said the agency learned about Dollarhite after an inspector looking at a licensed facility found that some of the facility's animals came from Dollarhite.

Sacks said licensed businesses are inspected regularly to make sure animals are properly cared for.

"Animal welfare is at the heart of everything we do," Sacks said. "So we consider it very serious when there is an activity regulated under the Animal Welfare Act that is being conducted without a USDA license."

Sacks said Dollarhite contacted a USDA office in March 2006, asking for a license application kit, which was sent to him. But Dollarhite said he didn't ask for a license application until fall or winter of 2009, and that he's never received it.

(Ya, I believe that one, Dollarhite.)