Litigious Louts

At the risk of sounding like the business major I once was, I have to say that I tend to get rather annoyed when I see headlines like this: "S.F. bookshop owner to close over ADA lawsuit."

Yes, I know. The Americans with Disabilities Act was put together with the best of intentions. But, realistically speaking, it causes a lot of damage that our country can ill afford.

Having taught ServSafe, I can attest to the laborious requirements and endless steps involved in meeting often arbitrary and frequently changing standards - even when starting a project from scratch! In pre-existing buildings, to say nothing of historic areas, the challenges expand exponentially. So do the costs.

Access compliance experts, inspectors, contractors, permits boards, zoning regulators, landlords - there are dozens of different people and agencies involved in changing or updating a building. None of them come free, and each is even more expensive if we take into account the time lost by owners and the revenue lost during the closure of operations for inspections and construction.

Often there are nasty catch-22's involved as well. You can't be in compliance without fixing this wall or that bathroom. But if you do any construction beyond the most elementary maintenance, you lose your grandfathered status and are suddenly faced with massive upgrades and modernization requirements of bankrupting proportions. So what do you do? Leave things as they are and hope no one complains, mortgage every inch of your life that isn't already invested in this dream to make it happen and pray it pays off or just close your doors and get out with your skin while you still can?

Is there really no place in our nation for the musty old bookstores, crammed floor to ceiling with hidden treasures? No place for authentically restored historic buildings in all their un-PC glory? Are we really prepared as a nation to sacrifice the chance to grasp our personal American dreams at the feet of a suffocating smog of unnecessary governmental and personal greed and burdensome legislation?

I'm not a fan of big government, so I don't think that government funding and grants should be handed out to bring buildings up to ADA status. That just compounds the problem of too much paperwork and too many hands involved. I do, however, think that dramatically slashing the number of fees, permits, and unnecessary building requirements would be a viable way to make an impact on situations like this. Lower start-up costs and less running around getting papers rubber stamped equals more time and money available to put into renovation and upgrades.

Finally, I will leave you with a oft-forgotten thought that has always seemed to me as simple as it is profound. Informed, opinionated consumers control the market. Every market. We vote daily with our wallets and, when we refuse to swallow the slop they shovel at us through their marketing, even the most powerful companies listen.

Any reform that we want to see can be made to happen without legislation or regulation - all we have to do is vote with our wallets. Patronize the businesses that do right and earn your respect and don't spend a dime at the ones who don't. The entire landscape of business would change in less than a month and be unrecognizable in less than a year. Guaranteed.

Something to think about as we head into a new year, perhaps. If you haven't already decided that I'm crazy, you can read a similar opinion from someone much wiser and more famous than me here. Then tell me what you think - I'd love to know!