Two weeks ago, the Mackinac Center (Michigan’s free-market think thank) produced a video about an entrepreneurial 13-year-old boy, Nathan Duszynski, whose hot dog stand was shut down by the local government.
Both of Mr. Duszynski’s parents are on disability, and he wanted to earn some money to help support them. His family took appropriate precautions; they had chosen a safe location and gone to city hall to file the necessary paperwork. The problem, though, was this industrious boy opened a food cart in the city’s commercial zone. Food carts are prohibited there, lest any of the local restaurants actually face competition. Perish the thought, I know.
Now, the Mackinac Center is reporting that the family is homeless:
The family receives about $1,300 a month in disability payments, Medicaid and food assistance. The three are having a hard time staying together. MLive confirms what the Mackinac Center learned Thursday — Nathan and his mother are staying at the Holland Rescue Mission.
“Nate and I are now in a shelter,” Lynette Johnson said. “Doug can’t stay with us because he takes prescription narcotics to deal with his pain [from multiple sclerosis] and the shelter does not allow him with those kinds of drugs.”
Conservatives should be ready with these kinds of stories that show the destructive qualities of big government and crony capitalism.