Saturday, October 14, 2006

Another Bright Idea

In Flower Mound, Texas, which is the city next to my "hometown," Grapevine, gas station attendants will now be the ones charged for gasoline thefts. Last month, the city enacted a mandatory pre-pay ordinance because of the growing number of gas drive-offs. The Libertarian in me is still wondering what this has to do with the city at all. Since customers now must pay in advance, the city will fine any employee who activates the pump without getting payment first. It's a misdemeanor, but it'll still cost $500. A few years ago the geniuses running Bennigans decided that the server would have to pay if anyone "dined and ducked." In Dallas a table of people did just that - the poor waitress ran outside to stop them, she got knocked over and killed in the parking lot by a car - the car carrying the people she was trying to catch!

Ryan - care to comment???

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you have better things to post than this.

To understand what FM has done you first have to undstand the basic difference between a Bennigan's waitress and a gas station attendant. Both,in FM, are usually a high school student and both are not known for their attention to detail (sometimes on purpose). A waitress is not allowed to give you your bill prior to dinnig and should not have to pay for dine-n-dash, however, automation has made it possible to NOT release (or turn-on) a gas-pump prior to payment. You can also pay cash - "Give me $10 on pump number 9, please"!

Since this automation is available, why would anyone turn on a pump without payment first? Unless of course they were complicit in the action of a crime!

Charles North said...

I hear you man - I just think that the multiplicity of laws in our society soemtimes places a lot of blame on people who haven't done anything wrong. People making $5.25 an hour should not be fined $500 for something as stupid as that. This is a Christian position to take, as is pointing out the absolute hypocrisy and collusion on the part of the people who set the gas prices to begin with. Don't get me started!