Proposed Measure Could Cost Some Businesses

For shops, liquor stores, markets, restaurants and bars in Sacramento selling and serving alcohol could become quite a little bit pricier. A new measure being created would charge $1,000 for a special liquor license that would fund inspections and a drinking program that would target underage drinking and drunk driving. This may sound like a good program, but these programs are already in place. Restaurants that serve alcohol pay $200, and places like bars serving hard liquor pay up to $800 for their liquor licenses. But the new measure 925 wouldn’t care whether you own a small family owned market or hot a nightclub, everyone would pay the same rate, and that’s another key purpose of the measure.

By having all alcohol vending businesses pay this same rate the measure could weed out smaller businesses that wouldn’t be able to afford the $1,000 license. Mainly the hopes are to get rid of businesses that are an eyesore in communities that frequently sell alcohol to minors, a product of uninformed minimum wage cashiers, like the ones featured in last weeks column. By putting the measure in effect it would make it easier for city investigator to find these supposedly troubled businesses out of business.

So here we have a measure that looks good in principal, but in reality it is meant to hurt small and struggling business. If the city wants to crack down better on underage drinking, then they can use the program they have in place now paid for by the liquor licenses that are already in effect, and inform business owners on how to spot fake ID’s better and make sure they train all their employees how to spot them as well. As far as preventing drunk driving they can also use the same funding from those same licenses already in affect but find a more effective way to get through to people if their previous attempts have not decreased drunk driving. Also they could put their efforts into supporting designated driver programs to help prevent drunk driving.

Backing the measure in progress are the police. "If it's revenue that helps kids stay out of trouble and helps reduce injuries because of drunken driving or doing something stupid, then it's definitely a good thing," said police spokesman Matt Young. Being the ones who have to deal with these problems first hand, the police naturally would want to reduce underage drinking and drunk driving and support the measure. But again this program is already in place but would have business pay about $1 million more into it than they already are, and that’s just for the city of Sacramento. Similar programs were tried in Oakland, Los Angelos, and other cities with mixed results. Why should we enact a measure that may not even work?

Instead of throwing money at existing ineffective programs and potentially ruining small businesses, the programs that this measure is supposed to help should be rethought and reformed to be more effective. Small businesses shouldn’t be penalized for failing public awareness programs. Mom and pop stores and immigrant run shops could be devastated by this new measure when they could contribute to city inspectors and drinking programs at a more affordable price for them. Business owners have enough expenses and worries and the current liquor should stay in place so that small business owners can stay in their place as well.