Outside the Beltway: Illegal Adventures in Babysitting

Brian Walsh / October 01, 2009

The Associated Press reported on Tuesdayon a letter the Michigan Department of Human Services sent to suburban mom Lisa Snyder, warning her to stop watching her neighbors’ children while they waited in the mornings for the school bus. Apparently Snyder was kind enough to do this as a favor for a few of her friends who are working moms.

Initial reports do not indicate whether the warning letter is backed by possible criminal penalties.

What is certain, however, is that this is yet another example of overbroad laws that bureaucrats and prosecutors use against Americans who are doing nothing that should be considered illegal, much less criminal.

Small-time entrepreneur and inventor Krister Evertson was arrested at gunpoint in Wasilla, Alaska, by SWAT-clad FBI agents. He had not known that he had to put a federally mandated sticker on his otherwise lawful UPS package. (more…)