Memorial Day weekend was bright and beautiful, so I had my kids arrested.

They had set up a lemonade stand.

The girls, Lauren, 10, and Bryn, 8, had taken a beat-up red wagon over to a nearby playground and were charging customers 25 cents a cup. I asked to see their license from the health department. Needless to say, they couldn't produce it.

``How about your common victualler's license? Let's see your business registration certificate? Did you take the state-required food-handling course?''

They gave me blank stares.

The City Council just passed a requirement that all food vendors had to wear plastic gloves. Were they wearing plastic gloves?

No.

As I contemplated the lemonade stand, the gravity of the situation grew on me.

The playground clearly was not zoned for a commercial enterprise. Nor had they obtained a one-day license from the licensing board that could temporarily exempt them from the rules.

The Inspectional Services Department had never signed off on the stand. Indeed, the kids had never even applied for a construction permit. Moreover, the fire department had never inspected the wagon for fire safety. I'm pretty sure it didn't have a working fire extinguisher.

The lemonade mix they had bought from Stop & Shop was clearly labeled, ``Not for resale.'' They had mixed it with water in our kitchen. That's illegal as well.

They asked their friend Mila to help them. They never paid her minimum wage, they failed to post the federally mandated fair-labor-law notices and, of course, they were illegally hiring a minor on a holiday, to boot.

I watched them sell a glass of lemonade. But they never bothered to collect any sales tax. Their hand-lettered sign was larger than the rules for ``home-based businesses'' allow. To top it off, they were operating in an historic district. I doubt the garish red wagon would have passed architectural muster.

I could go on, but you see my point. This was the kind of behavior that we cannot tolerate. The kids had to be dealt with harshly.

I wish I could report to you that egregious violations such as these are isolated occurrences, but I cannot. They happen all the time, particularly in Boston's least well-off neighborhoods.

For example, women bake cookies and pies to sell on street corners or at farmers' markets, trying to make a few dollars for their families. What they are doing is a crime. For one thing, it's illegal to sell food prepared in your own kitchen. If you want to be a caterer, you have to prepare the food in a separate, commercial kitchen that has been inspected by the health department.

Or how about hair braiding? Hair braiding is a traditional African art form currently popular in Boston's black community. It's a skill handed down from generation to generation.

But most hair braiders are operating illegally. The law says that all hair stylists must get a license from the state and must have gone to a hair styling school (average tuition, $8,000) for a minimum of 1,000 hours. As it turns out, most hair-styling schools teach things like hair cutting and coloring, not hair braiding.

So what? The law is the law.

Then there are the guys who hang around grocery stores, giving shoppers rides back home. They are blatantly violating the city's taxi laws. If you want to give someone a ride, you need a taxi medallion, currently available for about $166,000.

Now, it is true that taxis are never to be found in residential areas and that without the illegal cars, residents, particularly elderly residents, would have a tough time doing their shopping.

But so what? The law is the law.

Some people argue the laws should be changed. The Pioneer Institute's recently launched Center for Urban Entrepreneurship claims that government's welter of laws and regulations discourage urban entrepreneurship. It says the rules are foolish, needlessly complex and oftentimes amount to little more than barriers to new competitors.

Indeed, the center argues, if society really cares about eliminating poverty, it should do all it can to encourage those on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder to be entrepreneurs, that this is the key way to build economic independence and create vibrant, self-sustaining communities.

Bah.

If they want a job, let them work at McDonald's.

And as for my kids? Once they get out of jail, I plan to give them a good talking to. These laws were put in place for a good reason.

Next time they try to show some initiative, I'll tell the judge to throw away the key.

Tom Keane writes weekly for the Boston Herald. He is reachable at tomkeane@tomkeane.com.