Editor,

Well, Saturday’s front page of the Whidbey News-Times once again showed how out of touch with reality our local government can get. Who do they think pays for any increase in the cost of operating a retail store? It’s we the customers, folks.

The (Oak Harbor) council is enacting a law to increase our cost of goods as if it were a tax and they could impose it without being responsible for who has to pay nor for how the income gets spent.

The carts, which typically cost between $75 and $150 each with some models, like the locking wheel models, being $300 to $1,200 according to Wikipedia, are removed by people for various purposes.

Markets typically have to replace about 5 percent of their carts each year due to wear or theft. With that sort of cost, I am sure the markets do not wantonly allow their carts to be taken away from their location.

Now our city council makes a law to punish the markets for not sending their carts to “obedience school” to obey “sit, stay” commands, thus doubling the cost of operation to the market by adding the fine to the replacement cost, which must, of course, be passed along to us as price increases.

I guess this explains why they’re on the council and not depending entirely on their business acumen to make a living.

Reg White

Oak Harbor