On May 9, 8:41=A0am, California Poppy <GoldenStatePo...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> L.A. misguided in crackdown on taco trucks
> By Dan Walters - dwalt...@[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 =96
> which could mean jail time for taco vendors who violate the strict
> time limits on parking and serving =96 has touched off a firestorm of
> opposition, including a Web site called saveourtacotrucks.org.
>
> =A0No 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 =96 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
Pressure from restaurants with rents and light bills to pay...hard to
hold a balance to allow taco truckers to make a living while
protecting those with "normal" fix overheads.
Suggest to give a break to those who owns a single truck only and
charge them equitable fees.
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