Placerville Shuns Thrift Stores
Every so often I come across a news article that makes my blood boil. And today, thanks to the magic of social networking, my cousin-in-law Zach sent me a link to the mother of all idiotic ideas. Not long ago, I wrote about how thrift shops are some of the only retailers to be flourishing through this recent economic downturn. In spite of this, Placerville, CA, has called a temporary ban on thrift shops, because they apparently don't generate enough tax dollars compared to for-profit retailers. This effectively puts the kibosh on at least two new thrift shops planning on opening in the area. City officials called this moratorium to give themselves 45 days to "consider the issue and review the zoning code." In my opinion, Placerville city planers should be ashamed of themselves for this show of high-falootin' snobbery. What do you think?
- 11.05.09
Zach commented: Placerville is a fairly small community between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe that is primarily dependent on tourists stopping on their way to either one. It seems like they want to focus on retail shops opening that will make the town look better to tourists. Not exactly the best idea to generate more tourism or interest in even visiting Placervill in the first place.
- 11.6.09
Brad commented: misguided. Thrift stores don't scare away people, let alone tourists! But vacant storefronts do scare away people and economic activity in general.
- 11.7.09
Lizzie commented: I always seek out thrift stores when I travel, and know that many others do also, so if that is their thinking, it is misguided.
- 11.19.09
- Website
About the Archives ...
These news archives span back to Ars Longa's inception in August of 2004. Due to this longevity, many of the older posts may feature external links that have gone dead. Over time websites move pages and some even close shop altogether. I apologize for these inconsistencies, but in the interest in maintaining a full archive even entries whose links have expired will remain in place on Ars Longa.
Scott Lindberg
Sllab Modern
scott@sllab.net
Steve B. commented: How much sales tax do they collect from people after they start selling on eBay instead?
DUH!