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THE BUREAU OF HOME FURNISHINGS AND THERMAL INSULATION
Re: "Permitstan" on NRO:
A while back I stopped in a Walmart while visiting my in-laws in California. In the back of most stores here in the free world, there's a board on the wall for posting things like the daily stock price, thank you notes from charities, local business and liquor permits, etc. In the back of this store in California, however, there was not one, but two, boards, both of which were completely covered with permits. I counted: It took 27 permits to run a Walmart in Los Angeles County.
My favorite was a permit to sell bedding from the Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation. To paraphrase Orwell, Californians sleep safe in their beds because government workers stand at the ready to assess fines on those who would sell them unpermitted pillow cases.
Apollo Morgan
A CAUTIONARY TALE
It's a trap!
A few years ago, a good friend of mine (in San Jose) had a coffee cart business that provided expensive caffeinated beverages to company meetings, special events, etc. This was a volatile business, so he got the idea to open an internet shop and provide a coffee cart there to help grow and stabilize the business. His thinking was that the cart would defer the attendant costs and also give a diversion to the people working on the computers.
He checked with building codes, licensing, everything, and got the OK. He then rented a storefront, bought all the computers, signed a lease, and opened up. Two weeks later the city inspector came and said that a permanent coffee cart was illegal since he was using it to skirt the more stringent restaurant codes. He was told he had to reconfigure as a restaurant: prep kitchen, separate wash room for employees, fire suppression system— the whole works. Facing $100K in upgrades and six months to relicense and renovate, he shut down. It was very sad, and for a couple years his living room was stacked with computers he could not use as he tried to appeal and reopen.
He now works for the state in "community services".
John Pagano
RED TAPE, INC?
One point regarding "Permitistan" in California that I'm sure you know (but is worth reiterating):
Nanny-statism and unionized bureaucracy are only part of the story. You have to remember that businesses often welcome these kinds of regulations as a way of keeping the competition out. Cracking down on free coffee at the hardware store is, for example, beneficial to Starbucks. Starbucks, of course, is probably less concerned about the hardware store than about some upstart coffee shop, but that's not really the point (and I don't mean to pick on Starbucks; just an example).
The point is that both big and small businesses often favor regulation as a way of fending off competition. One clear indication of this phenomenon: false advertising lawsuits (which seldom concern genuinely false advertising) are almost always brought about by competitors, not by consumers. This aspect of the political economy is worth bearing in mind as we scratch our heads over so much bureaucracy.
James Stern
SPONGEHEART
I just returned from a 10-day visit to Glasgow, Scotland, and one of my cousins mentioned that employers are now limited by how much they can spend on each employee for Christmas parties and munchies around the office. According to him, someone decided it wasn't "fair" that office employees get free tea and coffee quite often, while others (bus drivers, construction workers) have to buy their own snacks; so offices are no longer "allowed" to provide such extras to their employees.
Due to his lack of indignation, I can only assume my previously proud, independent and stubborn people now resemble the frog that was put in lukewarm water and then brought to a boil.
Anne Yenny
Monrovia, California
GIVE ME A P-E-R-M-I-T!
Your NRO post on permits reminded me of something I noticed recently. I was back visiting my rural hometown in Oregon and I noticed a current copy of my high school newspaper on the coffee shop counter (haven't read one since I graduated from high school 25 years ago). In it there was a story about how all the student clubs were adapting to the new rules that said all food served at school functions had to be prepared by a licensed food handler. Therefore, no bake sales, no potlucks for club meetings, no bringing refreshments and homemade snacks to those evening practices, etc… but lots of food service jobs for SEIU members, I suppose.
Brendt
BELGIAN WAFFLE
Mark, are you taking umbrage or reveling at the obscurity of our heritage? I’ll have you know that Belgium has a fine heritage of being a practice area for other countries’ tank practice!
George (a fellow Belgy, but not a Froggy)
MARK SAYS: No, after years of being damned as a self-loathing Canadian, I've decided to become a self-loathing Belgian. It's hard to know which side of me to self-loathe the most.
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