TMR: $115K Fine For Using Volunteers Closes Winery, UK's NHS Prescribes Pills To People Who Have 2 Drinks a Night, and Rand Paul Cries Ebola
As promised I rise again, as does the vampire from the crypt, to bring you your libertarian news of the day. Your Friday Morning Roar! Winery Fined $115K For Using Volunteers Forced To CloseHere's a lovely example of a small, family owned business being forced to close its doors after an exorbitant fine was issued to them without any warning whatsoever from the state.The Palomares Canyon Road winery, owned by one Bill Smyth, was a popular (if petite) local winery in California that happened to allow those interested to volunteer to help out in exchange for education into winemaking and one would presume, some bottles of fine vino. An arrangement that suited all involved, who took part this exchange of their own volition. Of course, CA's Department of Industrial Relations couldn't let that go after the larger wineries lodged a tattletale complaint via the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association.
The volunteers, some of them learning to make wine while helping out, were illegally unpaid laborers, and Westover Winery should have been paying them and paying worker taxes, the state Department of Industrial Relations said.And, he added, "It isn't fair to wineries that are paying their employees to have to compete against for-profit wineries that do not."Smyth has paid some of the fines and is appealing the rest.Meanwhile, he and his wife, Jill, are holding a going-out-of-business sale and plan to shut down before the end of the year. The fines represent more than a decade's worth of profits for the winery, which nets about $11,000 a year, Smyth said."There's just no money left; they've taken everything," he said."We're a small winery, open only 10 hours a week. We didn't really need any helpers; we were just educating people about wine," he said."This was an incredible opportunity for me," said Peter Goodwin, a home winemaker from Walnut Creek who said he dreams of opening a winery with some friends. "I got to learn from someone who knows the business."
So, because of "fairness" to the other wineries, who, in a free market could use or raise their own volunteer base or would pay for labor as the demands of production would warrant , the state had to literally fine this company to death. No one should ever be fined for utilizing voluntary labor.And some of you may say, "but they had to have had some warning, no? No one would issue a $115K fine without at least giving warning of the infraction committed!" And you would be wrong.
Ken Tatum took the classes because he thought it would be fun to learn more about making wine and running a winery. The state fines were ridiculous and unfair, he said."I should be able to volunteer my time," said the retired Castro Valley resident.Why, Tatum asked, didn't the state first warn Smyth that using volunteers was not OK?The law does not allow for warnings, Melton said. If Department of Industrial Relations representatives see violations, he said, they are required to issue citations.
Everything wrong with government, all in one little story, tied up with a bow.UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Prescribes Pills For Anyone Drinking 2 Alcoholic Bevs Ah yes, nationalized healthcare run amok. The UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is pushing through their demands that British doctors interrogate their patients during any visit and ask them how many alcoholic bevvies they drink in a night. Anyone who says they have more than a single drink will be prescribed a nalmefene pill that (it's claimed) will stop you from wanting a second. Insanity. But let's hear more, shall we? The Telegraph fills us in:
The drug, which costs £3 per tablet, is taken when people feel the urge to have a drink and stops them from wanting more than one.The plans will cost £288m per year and it is estimated to save 1,854 lives over five years and prevent 43,074 alcohol-related diseases and injuries over the same period.
What a bargain for taxpayers!
The NHS and local authorities will be required to make funding available within three months.Prof Mark Bellis, alcohol lead for the Faculty of Public Health said there were relatively simple alternatives that would reduce alcohol consumption without the need to medicate the middle classes such as reducing advertising of alcohol and introducing a minimum price per unit.He said: "Once again this is going to increase pressure on the NHS when there are alternatives that would reduce pressure on health services by cutting alcohol consumption.
Thank you, voice of reason! Let's also not forget the simple fact that the government shouldn't be sticking its nose into what people are or are not imbibing in their own homes. This is the slippery slope of state-sponsored healthcare, and one that I am keenly watching here in the U.S.Rand Paul Cries "EBOLA!" Dr. Rand Paul knows a thing or two about medicine, but that shouldn't have spurred him to take to the stump and go hog wild about how dangerous ebola is and how the U.S. needs to be taking greater measures to stop it from spreading. I wrote this diatribe yesterday on the topic and how the CDC's track record of starting panics over "pandemics" that end up infecting a whopping 8 people doesn't exactly instill me with confidence.But, Rand's gonna Rand. From CBS:
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, warned that the U.S. could be underestimating the potential for Ebolato wreak havoc in the U.S. because of "political correctness.""It's a big mistake to underestimate the potential for problems worldwide," Paul said on "The Laura Ingraham Show" Tuesday.Citing reassurances by the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Tom Frieden, that there was little risk of a traveler bringing Ebola to the United States and causing an outbreak, Paul countered, "I really think that it is being dominated by political correctness and I think because of political correctness we're not really making sound, rational, scientific decisions on this."
Sound, rational and scientific discussion on this would dictate that everyone take a nice calming breath (not next to any ebola victims mind you!) and stop demanding that glass walls to the sky be constructed around any potential ebola landing zone. Political correctness is one of the banes of my existence, but this is one time where it's not involved in any way shape or form. I don't even know what the hell Rand is talking about here. I do agree with this statement though:
Paul, who is thinking about running for president, also questioned President Obama's decision to dispatch 3,000 military personnel to West Africa to help combat the spread of the disease."Where is disease most transmissible? When you are confined on a ship," Paul said.
We shouldn't be sending troops to Ebolaville to help with Jack or ship. Enjoy your weekend, everyone.Read The Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
