The Punitive Welfare State; A. Sokolin

Whether or not they succeed, they hit those who disobey with fines, imprisonment, or other penalties. Few penalties are for actions like murder or fraud which everyone agrees are crimi nal-because only an estimated one per cent of laws deal with these fundamental issues. The great majority of penalties apply to actions most people would probably say aren't crimes. The welfare state has expanded in the name of compassion, but it multiplied the number of actions for which people can be punished. A substantial number of people have endured heavy fines or are in prison today, though they harmed no one. The following examples of penalties suggest the harsh, hidden face of the welfare state: • Up to five years in prison for altering, defacing, or mutilating a coin minted at the U.S. Mint. (18 United States Code, section 331) • Up to ten years in prison for importing a book or article that aU. S. court considers obscene. (18 United States Code, section 552) • Up to six months in prison for commer cial use of the characters "Smokey the Bear" or "Woodsy Owl" without authori zation by the Secretary of Agriculture. (18 United States Code, sections 711, 711A) • Up to $10,000per day if the owner of a Ms. Sokolin is a student at Georgetown Univer sity Law School.

New York City buildingwith over nine units fails to maintain an adequate designated area or receptacle for recycling. (New York City Administrative Code, section 16-324) • Up to $500 or 30 days in prison or both for selling shoes on Sunday in North Da kota. (North Dakota Cent. Code 12.1-32-01) • Up to three years in prison for possess ing a lobster caught by any method other than a conventional trap. (Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, title 123, section 6431) • Up to $5,000for failure to post a permit authorizing the use of a building air-condi tioning and ventilating system. (New York City Administrative Code, section 27-194) • Up to one year in prison for littering on government rangeland. (43 Code of Federal Regulations, section 4170.2-2) • Up to two years in prison for bringing lottery tickets into the United States with the aim of selling them. (18 United States Code, section 1301) • Up to $5,000 for failure to identify an elevator bank with a letter of the alphabet.

Example: "N" for "North Wing." (New York City Administrative Code, section 27-393) • Up to $1,000 or one year in prison or both for transporting dentures made by someone without a dentistry license. (18 United States Code, section 1821) • Up to six months in prison for hunting, trapping, capturing, or willfully disturbing any bird, fish, or wild animal in a wildlife refuge. (18 United States Code, section 41) • Up to $1,000or 30days in prison or both for possessing feathers of a rare bird. (Okla439 440 THE FREEMAN • JUNE 1996 homa Statutes Annotated, title. 29, section 7-504) • Up to $2,500 or six months in prison or both for selling by telephone without regis tering with the Attorney General. (Califor nia Code Annotated, section 17511.8) • Up to $2,500 for the first time and up to $5,000 for each subsequent time that someone moves any goods for pay without a license. (New Jersey Statutes Annotated, section 45: 140) • Up to $1,000 or up to one year in prison or both for labeling a product as made by blind workers if less than 75 percent of total direct labor was actually performed by blind workers. (California Codes Annotated, sec tion 17522) • Up to $500 or three months in prison for repairing a radio or television receiver with out a license. (Massachusetts General Laws Annotated, chapter 112, section 87VVV) • Up to $100 or 30 days in prison or both for giving a haircut (even a free haircut) without a license. (Connecticut General Statute Annotated, sections 20-234 and 20 236) • Up to 60 days in prison for sellingliquor between midnight and 7 A.M. (Florida Stat utes Annotated, section 562.14) • Up to $500 for refusing to leave a government school after insulting a govern ment school teacher, bus driver, or school bureaucrat in the presence of minor chil dren. (Georgia Code Annotated, section 20 2-1182) • Up to $1,000 fine or one year in prison or both for bringing honeybee semen into . the United States. (7 United States Code, section 281) As these examples suggest, there isn't really much compassion in the welfare ~~. D Exclusive! FEE Gold Anniversary Coin A special one-ounce gold coin has been issued to com memorate FEE's fiftieth anniversary and to honor Margaret Thatcher, speaker at the April 11 Golden Jubilee celebration.

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