I was thinking recently about last spring when my wife and I
drove to Canada to visit relatives.
I was thinking recently about last spring when my wife and I drove to Canada to visit relatives. Pulling into Oregon on a bright sunny morning and finding the first gas station, I bounced out of my politically incorrect SUV and proceeded to flip open the gas cap cover, remove the cap and take the nozzle from the pump just as I’ve done uncounted times before.
All of a sudden a man came running up to me. The dialog went something like this:
Man: “Stop! You can’t do that.”
Me: “I can’t do what?”
Man: “You can’t pump your own gas.”
Me: “What do you mean I can’t pump my own gas? You think I’m an idiot?”
Man: “Oregon law says that gas has to be pumped by station employees.”
Me: “Oh, sorry, I’m from California.”
Whereupon he proceeded to take the nozzle from my hand and pump gasoline into the tank, while giving me a look that made me indeed feel very dumb.
After leaving the gas station I fumed for about 20 miles down the road over my inability to pump my own gas. My reoccurring thought was how the Oregon politicians must think that the motoring public is a bunch of morons. But then having more time and distance to think about the whole thing, I realized how wrong I had been. After all, politicians would never think that the people they serve, the public, are morons, incapable of such a simple task, would they? Of course not.
The answer that struck me like lightning was now obvious – the Oregon politicians were shear geniuses! Here were thousands of jobs that had been mandated by law, and in an industry we all depend on – petroleum. What brilliant planning!
Back to the present. I’ve been thinking about how California has been losing jobs over the last seven years. California has changed from the “Golden State” to the “Poverty State” thanks in a large part to the fiscal mismanagement of our former governor. Adding insult to injury, California ranks 49th in high taxes according to a recent Tax Foundation State Business Tax Climate Index, which measures the impact on business of five major elements of the tax system: the percentage of income taken by all taxes, the individual income tax rates, the corporate income taxes, the sales tax rate, and the complexity of the tax system. Only Mississippi has a more unfriendly tax climate for business.
So, besides the economy dip, is it any wonder our state has lost jobs? Employers leave (remember Gilroy’s former Indian Motorcycle company?) and ex-employees who remain and are lucky enough to find new employment are taxed down to their shoe strings, assuming their new jobs won’t fall victim to the hatchet as well.
But I’ve digressed. So what’s my amateur quick-fix solution for more California jobs including Gilroy? Well, California can start on the road to job recovery by following Oregon’s example for pumping gasoline. Yep, our new governor can muscle the legislature to pass into law a requirement that the disbursement of gasoline in California must be performed only by an employee of a gasoline station, and not by the motorist.
Now just think of the repercussions this would have – thousands of jobs would instantly be created for California, and dozens created for Gilroy as well. And since gas stations won’t be leaving California like so many other businesses, these jobs will be safe from further economic downturn. Also think how this would create new job opportunities for the homeless.
Or, maybe the state could even give priority for filling these new jobs to people on welfare, especially those who could be working but simply don’t want to work. Maybe, just maybe, filling these new job positions with these folks would reduce some of the welfare costs that us taxpayers shell out.
Now you might say “what about the price of gas going up because of this crazy idea?” Well, Oregon’s gas prices were comparable if not lower than California’s prices at the time I stopped there. So if this law works in Oregon, then why couldn’t it work in California?
Am I really serious about this idea?
Maybe, maybe not. I do hope however, it has stirred your attention, and maybe even a chuckle. But just think – if this actually happened, we might return to the time when a gas station really provided real “service.” Your gasoline was not only pumped by an attendant, but your windshield was cleaned, and your engine oil and tire pressure levels were checked. Now wouldn’t getting that kind of service again be worth a small price increase for gas?
In fact, it might make you feel that you’ve gone “Back To The Future” even right here in Gilroy.
