Larry Hoffman: Are our local leaders listening? - The Union of Grass Valley
Recently, Jim Hemig wrote one of his weekly op-eds to express his concern about how Internet shopping and lack of support for local business growth is causing our community to “die on the vine. He made some specific points, noted some conflicts and made some suggestions on how to improve both the private and public economies. Jim erroneously states that we’re against business growth. ” I, for one, would love to shop at a local outlet store that produces clothing from such a company. Business growth that’s limited to part-time, service-oriented employment that doesn’t really create middle class jobs is perhaps what Jim thinks we don’t support. He also focused on the siphoning of (otherwise local) tax dollars to Internet shopping and “down the hill” retailers. Internet shopping, as Jim points out, is even more of a threat than the businesses in North Auburn or Roseville. If Internet shopping is in fact the inevitable future, we need to embrace it and make it work favorably for the communities from which those tax dollars emanate. Let’s start by supporting the tenet that all online sales need to be taxed – just as they are if you purchase something in Auburn, Roseville or San Francisco. Source: www.theunion.com
