On Fri, 9 May 2008 08:41:02 -0700 (PDT), California Poppy
<GoldenStatePoppy@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
I remember Los Angeles before it became El Baja Del Norte.
>L.A. misguided in crackdown on taco trucks
>By Dan Walters - dwalters@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, May 9, 2008
>
>A new chapter in an old and dreary story of political interference
>with the economic aspirations of low-income and/or immigrant
>Californians is unfolding in Los Angeles, whose county supervisors
>have voted to crack down on the horrendous crime of selling tacos.
>
>Claiming that "taco trucks," as they are known, pose some sort of
>vague threat to the health, welfare and safety of Angelenos, the supes
>have voted for new restrictions on their ability to provide local
>folks with cheap and tasty food.
>
>The county officials apparently were responding to complaints of
>restaurant owners who resent the competition. But their new law –
>which could mean jail time for taco vendors who violate the strict
>time limits on parking and serving – has touched off a firestorm of
>opposition, including a Web site called saveourtacotrucks.org.
>
> No one has alleged that the food being served from the taco trucks is
>dangerous (except, perhaps to the waistline), which would be the only
>legitimate reason for greater regulation, but then only on health
>grounds. Rather, an aide to Supervisor Gloria Molina was quoted in one
>news account that the trucks have become "a big quality-of-life
>issue."
>
>"Business with a fixed place of business complain about unfair
>competition and the spillover effects mobile vendors have on the
>surrounding area," the aide said.
>
>This is just petty interference with those who aspire to better their
>lots in life. And it's not the first time it's happened.
>
>Local governments have attempted to restrict lawn services, supposedly
>in the name of noise pollution, and sidewalk pushcarts (very similar
>to the taco truck issue), responding to pressure from restaurant and
>cafe owners.
>
>Not surprisingly, those and other small businesses that politicians
>attempt to regulate and discourage are usually owned by immigrants and/
>or ethnic minorities, although there are no true minorities remaining
>in California.
>
>About a decade ago, the mostly African American and mostly female
>practitioners of hair braiding were being pressured by state
>regulators into becoming state-licensed cosmetologists, which would
>have had the effect of forcing most of them out of business. A very
>conservative Republican legislator, Ray Haynes, successfully carried a
>bill exempting the hair-braiders from state licensing.
>
>The hair-braiders were lucky to escape licensing, considering what
>later happened to many small, licensed businesses, mostly minority- or
>immigrant-owned. Rapacious law firms would comb state files, looking
>for even the smallest infractions or lapses by licensees, then
>threaten them with consumer lawsuits if they didn't send checks to the
>lawyers in ill-disguised shakedowns.
>
>Thoughtful legislation was introduced to stop the shameful practice,
>but the trial lawyer lobby blocked approval, apparently fearing that
>it could lead to wider restrictions on class-action suits. A business-
>backed group then placed on the ballot a measure that did exactly what
>the lawyers feared would happen, using the shakedown suits as their
>weapon, and voters passed it.
>
>The only truly legitimate reasons for government regulation of any
>business are to protect the public from dangers to health and safety
>or fraud. But those who want to legislate their competition out of
>business constantly misuse those principles – with never-ending
>efforts by some interior designers to restrict competition for clients
>through state licensing being another example.
>
>It's likely that public outrage against the Los Angeles County taco
>truck law will force the county supervisors to back down, as they
>should. And if they do rescind the law, perhaps it will discourage
>future efforts to gratuitously make it difficult for those on the
>lower end of the economic scale to lift themselves up by their
>bootstraps
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