Whiny businessmen

One thing I don't have a lot of sympathy for is whiny businessmen. For example, in my city, the businessmen love to complain. The city needs to do more promotion. It needs to beautify our downtown. Businessmen want the city to waste $3 million on a parking garage to "solve" downtown's mythical parking problem so people have to walk 10 fewer feet to the few shops that remain. And since those two things obviously won't cost any money, they whine about needing lower taxes too. They need all this because they have to compete with the main Mall, the strip mall and the numerous shopping plazas in the neighboring town.

One thing the businessmen don't mention is what the real problem is. They don't mention it because it's the one thing the city CAN'T control: hours. Most shops downtown (excluding restaurants and bars) are closed by 5 PM. Stores in the Mall and the plazas stay open until 9 PM or later.

Now, I'd prefer to shop at small, downtown businesses. I'd prefer the profits to stay with the local owners and the sales tax to stay within my city, to fund the library, the parks, etc. I really would prefer to shop in my city. But there's one simple logistical problem: the stores close at 5 PM and I work until 5 PM.

The shops downtown are operating as though the 1950s social reality is still the norm. While there are certainly stay-at-home moms, most families either have 100% of the adults working. People that work a normal day shift simply can not shop downtown because the shops refuse to be open at that time.

Some time in the 90s, I remember there was a hockey memorabilia shop located right near our Civic Center arena. It sold hockey cards, jerseys and stuff like that. Each week in the wintertime 5000-8000 hockey fans walked by that shop. But it went out of business. I'm sure they'd blame the mayor or taxes or some other boogey man. But I point out one fact that's probably more pertinent: the shop closed at 6 PM. Hockey games started at 7:30 PM. They didn't stay open later on hockey nights.

I'm not going to tell people how to run their enterprises, but they need to face reality and not blame others for situations that are fully within their control.

I was reminded of this when I read an article in the Times-Union of Albany.

Last week, the New York state legislature actually did something.

I'll wait a few minutes for shocked readers to be revived.



They actually passed a budget. Sure, it was over four months late, a record for tardiness. Sure, that lateness was pooh-poohed by Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno; I'm sure the school district superintedents who had to make their own budgets based on zero knowledge of what state aid would be would love to have a little chat with Sen. Bruno. Sure, Gov. George Pataki may veto parts of it. Sure, many legislators bemoaned not having enough time to read what they were approving, an annual complaint. But at least legislators finally did their most basic job.

Contained within the budget was a provision to allow liquor stores to be open seven days a week. For the longest time, liquor stores were required to be closed on Sunday. Last year, the state said they could be open on Sunday if they wanted but would have to close some other day. They had to report to the state what days and hours they be open and closed and stick to those hours. Now, they can be open seven days a week. (Incidentally, New York still bans sales of liquor in supermarkets, though there is a lobbying campaign to change that)

You'd think this change would be popular. No longer would they have to submit paperwork to the state regarding their hours. No longer would the state be limiting their operations. To me, this makes sense. There was no compelling reason to force liquor stores to close one day a week so they got rid of this arbitrary requirement.

But as usual, not everyone is happy with what seems like a common sense decision for the government to cease meddling in business, something which small businessmen ritually moan about.

"I have one day to myself, to rest and do personal things," said Lina Kouchpileava, who owns Diana Discount Wine & Liquor on Grand Street in Albany. "Now, when stores can work seven days, I have competition and have to open seven days because I don't want to lose my customers."

She HAS to open seven days??? You'd think they'd put a gun to her head if she doesn't.

I'm sorry but balancing between work/money and family is something everyone with a job has to do, especially someone who owns their own business. Freedom to run your own business entails freedom to make your own decisions.

You can't complain about government meddling generally and then demand they protect you from having to make a tough decision by imposing that decision on all of your competitors.

"The people who are making these decisions, they don't know real life," Ms. Kouchpileava said.

In real life, you don't demand a law requiring everyone else take a day off just because you want one.