Big Govt stops N.J. teens from shoveling snow

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Cars buried in snow after New Jersey December 2010 blizzard.
Cars buried in snow after New Jersey December 2010 blizzard.

We live in the People’s Republic of New Jersey, Save Jerseyans, as two Bound Brook teens just learned.

“The two friends were canvasing a neighborhood near this borough’s border with Bridgewater early Monday evening, handing out fliers promoting their service,”  explained a report on MyCentral Jersey.com, “when they were pulled over by police and told to stop.”

The story goes on to explain that the police told them they could come back during daylight hours, after the ‘Storm of the Century’ had presumably begun winding down, a concern allegedly rooted, in part, in an active “state of emergency” and travel ban extending throughout the entire state through Tuesday morning.

To tell you the truth, the plight of these teens reminds me an awful lot of the systemic criminal justice concern underlying the Eric Garner debacle, one which our friend Joe Schilp discussed at length back in December. No one died here. Not even close, and unlike Mr. Garner, there’s no indication that these kids were serial lawbreakers. But once again, we have an example of the law being used as a bludgeon for social engineers and statists rather than to protect and defend citizens’ rights.

What do I care if someone is selling untaxed cigarettes? For that matter, why the hell are we taxing cigarettes? 

Ironically, it was originally intended to pay for efforts to keep kids from smoking them.

Kids that can’t find a job, by the way, or even shovel snow for money without a permit?

This is paternalism run amok, folks. Yes, we have laws on the books to protect citizens from undue harassment, too, and I don’t want travelling snake oil salesman and three-card monte hustlers to inherit the earth, but somewhere along the way, we’ve lost our ability to appreciate and enforce the spirit of an ordinance or statute. We’re doing more harm than good, not only discouraging the hard work of these teens but also contributing to a culture that now assigns more seriousness to snow storms, “bullying” and peanut allergies than the threat of global Islamic terrorism.

What a world… I wonder how long we can keep it going with the way people are behaving? 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8390 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

9 Comments

  1. The same big government whose Governor told everyone to stay in their homes during a “blizzard”? And why tax anything at all, bring back tariffs. And why belittle someone who possibly has a peanut allergy that could result in a deadly consequence?

  2. FYI, for what it’s worth; in speaking with the Mayor by phone and like with everything else; there are two sides to a story and then what really happened. His matches that the kids were out in the street at night putting fliers in the door (very industrious) but looking a bit suspicious. Someone worried about the suspicious image The police talked to the kid, and suggested he come back tomorrow. Secondly, everything was supposed to be shut down and maybe they shouldn’t have been out at that time. A for effort. Implementation seems to be the concern. According the Mayor, no permits or licenses are envisioned. Again, for what it’s worth.

  3. Well the State will loose revenue and kids may not do a good enough job to satisfy the property dweller. It could be they don’t belong to the Snow removal Union. I recall when they had the Hurricane Electrical Workers from major Southern Cities came up to work for free but could not unless they joined the union. So I’ll go with Scab Snow Shovelers, they have a lot of nerve not joining the union.

  4. What a trash post. When the governor declares a state of emergency and you’re told to not to go outside, YOU DON’T GO OUTSIDE. I’m the last person to ever defend law enforcement, but c’mon, man!

    This post makes me feel embarrassed for you, Matt. You’re like Rose Nylund covering a dog show while a robbery is in progress behind you.

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