November 21, 2014
I was a divorced mother of a young child. I had just lost my (crappy) job, worried about becoming homeless, and I had $37 to my name. In that situation some people look to government to save them. Me? I found my salvation in chicken salad.
I make a chicken salad sandwich that is insanely delicious. People told me all the time, “You should sell these, I’d buy them!” So in my moment of extreme need, that’s what I did. I decided I’d make sandwiches and sell them to factory workers and at the local coffee shop. I figured out my costs, pricing strategy, marketing, and where and when I could sell the sandwiches. With hard work, double coupons, and bit of luck I would be able to pay my bills. Perhaps even a bit more than pay my bills, especially since I wouldn’t need to pay for daycare.
That was when I discovered the joy of codes, regulations, and licensing laws.
To make food to sell, you can’t just have a sparkling clean kitchen and excellent food handling skills, you need a licensed kitchen. It also can’t be the same kitchen you use in your house. Special kitchen. Special appliances. Special floor. Special countertops. There was no way I could afford to build a second kitchen and no time to get through the application process. I couldn’t afford to rent a licensed kitchen, even if I was loaned some cash upfront.
I found a solution that most people wouldn’t have access to – the church my mother attended allowed me to use their licensed kitchen, free of charge. And I made those sandwiches. And I sold them at the local coffee shop and to factory workers on their break. And I made more than enough money to pay my bills and then some. In fact, I had more orders coming in than I could fill. I had plans to expand, was able to donate to the church, and was considering hiring someone to help me. Poverty was a thing of the past.
I was shut down.
It wasn’t enough that I was making the food in a licensed kitchen. There were many, many more expensive and time intensive governmental hoops I would need to jump through to stay in business. Not the least of which was getting city council to amend the law on food carts operating within the city limits. You could only have them during the fair or other temporary events. My old car, with its many coolers, was not considered a proper food cart, either. So I’d have to construct a food cart that met all codes and regulations same as the RV looking food carts at the county fair. Or face fines that were more per day than I made each day.
I shut down. Got another (crappy) job, sent my kid back into daycare, worried constantly I’d be homeless, and lived on the absolute margins for several more years.
Everyone has their own chicken salad. That thing you overlook as easy or silly or stupid, but others would pay for. I mean, if people can make serious money giving other people hugs, chances are you have a special something you could turn into a business. This is especially important for women with small children, who make up the overwhelming majority of those living in poverty in the USA. A business they could run out of their own homes, using a skill or talent they possess, and avoid the crippling cost of daycare.
This is what’s missing in discussions about poverty and minimum wage. How government – through codes, regulations, zoning, and other laws – keeps people from climbing out of poverty by making it nearly impossible to (legally) start and run a business out of your own home. I don’t know how far I could have taken my chicken salad salvation if I hadn’t been shut down by all these insurmountable governmental hurdles, but I do know I was not only surviving, but thriving. Millions of others living in poverty could do the same thing – if only we’d let them have the opportunity to do so.
Chicken Salad Salvation
1 can of chunk chicken, drained
1/2 carrot, thinly sliced
1/4 tomato, petite diced
1/8 onion, yellow or red, minced
salt and white pepper to taste
1/8 cup sour cream
1/8 cup ranch dressing – make the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, don’t use the already bottled dressing
Mix the chicken, sour cream, and dressing. Then add in everything else. The measurements are approximate so if you need more of something to suit your taste, go for it.
Layer a bagel, croissant,or bread with leaf lettuce, chicken salad, real cheese slice, lettuce and top bread piece. If you do that, you can keep it in the fridge all day without anything getting soggy.
Cara Schulz
Communications Director
Concerned about the expansion of government control and the erosion of individual liberty? Please consider joining and becoming active with the Libertarian Party of Minnesota. Libertarians support liberty on all issues, all the time! Libertarianism is a philosophical and political movement to promote personal freedom, strong civil liberties, a genuinely free marketplace, and peace.