The Underground Conservative

Government bureaucrats are the real weenies in this story — and to quote Gomer Pyle, “Surprise, surprise, surprise” on that one.

A guy loses his job and starts his own business and the weenie bureaucrats from the city try to shut him down.

RACINE — Since he opened Top Dog Hot Dogs a week ago, Caleb Robinson’s mobile business has gotten a lot of customers — and a little unwanted attention from the city.

Robinson, 24, has been told he can’t sell on Monument Square. He said he’s also been told he can’t sell from the sidewalk. His options were difficult to determine Friday.

City ordinance apparently forbids peddlers — and Robinson operates under a peddler’s license — from selling in a city park without that department’s permission. Monument Square is a city park, and that’s primarily where he had hoped to sell.

The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department informed Robinson that he’ll have two main options. He can find a place on private property and set up his cart there, or he must keep moving continuously except when serving a customer.

Friday afternoon Robinson said he wasn’t yet sure what he’ll end up doing.

“I’m just a little irritated, seeing as how I’m trying to do something positive, do something legal, and I’m getting more harassment than support from the city,” he said.

Finding a place on private property translates to paying rent. No property owner is going to allow Robinson to park his hot dog cart free of charge. And the rules-are-rules crowd at City Hall wants him to keep pushing the cart around all the while he is open unless he is serving a customer.

We agree with him here. All the city is doing is harassing him. He’s selling a legal product to customers who want to purchase it. Maybe he should change products and start selling crack cocaine and other drugs out of his cart. Then the city wouldn’t care and would leave him alone. seeing as that is their current approach to drug houses.