Proposal Eliminates Employer-Provided Lunches In SF Because Restaurants Can’t Compete

The titles pretty much says it all. Some restaurants near big companies are having trouble because nobody shows up at lunchtime because the employees eat at work for free, so some city supervisors want to make free food provided by the employers illegal.

At first glance, the proper response to that is “well, that’s just stupid.” But then… give it some thought. The basic concept could – and should – be expanded upon. Employers are now *required* to provide health care benefits to employees. But doesn’t that harm other possible providers? Get rid of that. Employers are also required to withhold part of your income for Social Security and whatnot. But that harms other businesses where you could have a retirement investment.

Imagine it: San Francisco could become ground zero for a movement that results in work becoming real, real simple: you show up, you do your job, you get a paycheck. THAT’S IT. Come tax time, the company hasn’t withheld anything; your paychecks were  probably in the area of 30-50% higher, so you, being a responsible non-dumbass, wisely socked away a good chunk of your pay. And you can easily write the IRS a big fat check, and you’ll get to see real clear just how much the government takes from you.

This is the second such head scratcher from out that-a-way in recent days. Just a few days ago, the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the most left-wing of the circuit courts, finally recognized that mere citizens *do* actually have the right to be armed outside the home. Shocking, I know, that such obviousness was noted there… but there it is.