One of the undeniable truths of life in My World is that most problems have multiple causes and thus need multiple solutions. One of the reasons politicians never solve any problems is because they try and give you one solution. This is deliberate because if they actually solve problems, they are afraid they would lose their power. What they really like to do and do very well is make you think they are solving a problem; thus, they keep their power, get reelected and we keep on paying the price. It's one of the reasons the cost of living keeps going up.
California has led the way, setting an example for every other state and the federal government in how to play the game. Senate bill 753 is about to pass through the state legislature. It got through the Senate unanimously. The bill deals with the very serious problem of abandoned shopping carts. The mayor of San Jose has pushed the legislation due to the significant problem his city has with the homeless and them abandoning shopping carts that no longer meet their needs.
What happens now is the city has to collect the carts, store them for 30 days, provide notice, if possible, to the store that owns the carts to come and get them, then dispose of them if the store doesn't pick them up, which is often the case since the carts are in disrepair. I understand it's a problem but what is the solution? To maybe deal with the homeless situation? Of course not. They are going to punish the stores that allow their carts to be stolen.
The law will shorten the storage time to three days during which the store has the opportunity to come and pick up the cart itself. At that point they would pay a $150.00 fine per cart. If the store does not pick it up in three days, the city will gladly return it to the store and charge them a $500 fee on top of the $150.00 fine. The store does not have a choice in the matter. And the store must put a plate on each cart identifying it as theirs. Or they can etch their name into the cart.
I got to wondering how a store could prevent their carts from being stolen. One way is to have a locking unit similar to what you have at the airport with a luggage cart. You pay a fee to get the cart which is refunded when you return the cart.
Another option is to have an anti-theft pole attached to the cart. This is a vertical pole that extends upward from the cart and is taller than the exit door meaning you cannot remove the cart from the store. This would require creating a loading zone by the front doors. Or maybe the homeless could stand outside and carry your groceries to your car for a tip. I don't think the politicians would like that one because that's exploitation.
A third option is similar to the invisible fence you might use for your dogs. The cart is equipped with wheel locks that are activated when the cart gets to the edge of the parking lot for example making it impossible to push. All of these options will add to the cost of doing business, making it more expensive for us to purchase the goods.
The politicians say the cost is minimal and could easily be eaten or absorbed by the business. As usual that's misleading because all of the different regulations and fees placed upon businesses add up to a significant amount which makes California the most expensive places to live in the United States. But until we're able to break the power structure we're going to get more of the same. At least it will continue to provide a plethora of topics for people like myself to talk about.
