Los Angeles Taco Trucks, A Study in Free Market Economics
Have you been following the saga of the 14,000 taco trucks in Los Angeles? Let’
s give you a synopsis:
The County of Los Angeles has 14,000 mobile trucks that sell food in neighborhoods. They offer mostly Mexican-American dishes (e.g. tacos) that are inexpensive and simple. Well, recently, in its infinite wisdom, the county board of supervisors voted to make it a crime if a truck stayed in one place for more than an hour. This measure was supported by the local chamber of commerce, and it was passed unanimously by the 5 supervisors.
The logic was that the trucks, with their inexpensive menu and low overhead, were forcing brick and mortar restaurants to close. So, they imposed a fine of $1,000 and/or 6 months in jail if they didn’t move every hour. Armed robbery or drunk driving probably gets you 30 days, but sitting your truck in a place for an hour gets you 6 months!
The part of the story on which we want to concentrate is the economics of the situation. If government passes laws that make it harder for licensed, regulated, inspected food vendors to deliver their wares, the only loser is the consumer. Food the consumer wants would become more expensive artificially.
If a mobile vendor has determined a better and less expensive way to deliver his or her food, then let the market factors determine that. If traditional restaurants can’t adopt and adapt to market conditions, then they should go out of business. Let markets determine what consumers want, and the natural fluid conditions will make the correct adjustments.
