Letters for August 25, 2011

Letter of the week
A reasonable proposal

Re “A waste of resources” by Jeff vonKaenel (SN&R Greenlight, August 18):

The California Cannabis Association has proposed a solution to the county [regarding medicinal-marijuana dispensaries].

First, enact a moratorium to stop any more dispensaries from opening.

Second, adopt a temporary ordinance that would take effect within 30 days. This temporary ordinance would mandate that any dispensing storefront collective register with the county, submit a boatload of information (seller’s permit, articles, proof of insurance, etc.) and pay a $5,000 fee. In return, the county would issue the dispensary a “temporary operating permit.”

This solution would generate $350K-$600K immediately for the county, provide the county with accurate data as to who is operating and where; give a break to the landlords who are doing what they can to keep their properties in this horrible economy, continue to provide safe access for qualified patients, make the illicit market irrelevant and keep the 600 or so jobs that these wellness centers have created.

Sounds good, right? Maybe your readers can help bring this to the front lines of public opinion and hold the public servants accountable to the will of the public which they serve.

Amir Daliri
director of government affairs
California Cannabis Association

High-speed necessity

Re “Rail debate’s on the wrong track” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R Bites, August 18):

It’s sad that the only person who commented on this article [online] completely missed the point.

We are not going to stop spending money on transportation. It’s not an option. The issues of the police and homeless aren’t relevant to keeping our state connected. Also, poor people will benefit. Many people save for a long time to fly or drive the length of the state. High-speed rail will cost as much or less than a Greyhound bus ticket, and get there a lot faster.

Costs aside, it’s really easy to graph the growth of economies against the connectedness of their people. The cheaper and easier it is to move people and goods, the more that will be moved. Search Wikipedia for Jevon’s Paradox if you want to see “evidence.”

That said, the world is leaving us behind. We have a lot of examples to look to, places like Spain that had the same issues. They would never go back to not having their high-speed rail (it cost them twice what they thought it would, too).

Michael Shader
Corona

It’s a shakedown

Re “A waste of resources” by Jeff vonKaenel (SN&R Greenlight, August 18):

Nobody missed the point but the [Sacramento County] Board of Supervisors. Mr. vonKaenel hit it on the head.

The board and their “special teams” are walking into fully legit collectives (which have been established in the county for a long time) and telling them that they have to pay a fine to keep operating, yet the county has no ordinance on paper or in effect.

What is that called? Oh yeah—a shakedown! Better yet, let’s just call it what it is: organized crime. If I was not too smart, I’d say the county is acting like a bunch of Mafia strong-arms telling business owners they must pay to stay, without anything to back their demands.

If you are so concerned about the collective owners acting inappropriately and opening without an ordinance in effect, ask yourself this: How can they open in Sacramento County without the county’s approval?

The answer is: They can’t! The county must approve their business application-license-permit to operate. On top of that, the collectives must pay special assessment fees to the county just to open. So the club owners get the green light to open (after paying out the ass), only to turn around and see all that money is likely going toward paying a bunch of attorneys to shut the clubs down! Call me crazy, but this is ass-backwards.

I live in chronic pain after nine operations in three years—including recalled implants that caused paralysis—and I’m only 30 years old. Who is going to tell me I do not have the right to medicine access? Not a damn person. The only people behind this massive move in the wrong direction are politically motivated and want the bottom dollar to be their bottom dollar.

Dave Mapes
Sacramento

‘Amazon tax’ hurts Californians, too

Re “Where’s the integrity?” by Judith Redmond (SN&R Essay, August 11):

Judith Redmond is right to point out that Californians owe use tax on their out-of-state purchases, but her arguments for California’s failed “Amazon tax” law missed the mark. In fact, I fear that struggling California business owners and entrepreneurs like Ms. Redmond actually have the most to lose in a brave new Amazon tax world.

Did you know that many California businesses currently make sales in other states without collecting sales tax on behalf of those states? In fact, in five states where Amazon collects and remits sales tax, many California businesses don’t. Does this lack integrity? Is it wrong? I don’t think so.

Imagine just how difficult life would be if other states adopted retaliatory Amazon tax laws. Under these laws, whenever a potential buyer lives in another state, California sellers would be forced to register with that state’s tax bureaucracy, complete extensive paperwork, begin collecting and remitting sales tax and be subject to intrusive, time-consuming audits. If you think dealing with one tax agency is bad, try 45.

Thankfully, the U.S. Constitution prohibits this sort of ridiculous state interference in interstate trade and commerce. State lawmakers can’t compel out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax unless those retailers have a physical retail presence—known as “nexus”—in that state.

But in their lust for revenue, lawmakers get both creative and stupid. Under California’s failed Amazon tax law, a new definition of “nexus” means thousands of out-of-state companies that share income with California-based affiliate advertisers must become California tax collectors. Rather than do this, most have simply ended those advertising relationships—just as they warned lawmakers they would. The result is lost jobs and income for our state.

At a time when California’s unemployment rate is already among the worst in the nation, an Amazon tax is the last thing California businesses and entrepreneurs need. The best solution to our state’s budget problems would be to help grow our economy, not make it smaller.

George Runner
member
California State Board of Equalization