The Lemonade Stand

"I'm not getting out of the car.  Children are disgusting.  Look at their hands."

I was driving, noticed the group of children and their lemonade stand, so I had pulled over, when my wife made that remark.

"Fine" I replied, and shut the door.

"Which one of you is in charge here?" I asked the group.

------------------------------------------------

I don't have kids, but I imagine the value in the lemonade stand is two-fold:

1) The children are compelled by their young Greed to sit outside for hours.  You are free from their presence for nearly an entire afternoon and don't even have to pay a babysitter.

2) You get to teach the children how their own Greed will inevitably destroy them.

------------------------------------------------

Let's imagine our theoretical child excitedly rushes inside to display $9 dollars after an honest afternoon in the front yard with the lemonade stand.  The lips begin to quiver as you quickly take the first $3, for the government.  "Don't even ask about taxation", you tell them, "you're too young to understand, and always will be."

The next $6 dollars are split in half. Let's make the theoretical partner a sibling instead of a neighbor, to increase the tension.

Before our theoretical child can even begin to wonder how $9 has become $3, our theoretical parent starts hurling more costs.  The cost of renting the space for the stand.  The cost of the lemonade, water filter, and plastic cups.  You take your child's last $3 dollars, but it is not enough.