EDITORIAL KICKBACKS CONTINUED.SEEING that the city of Los Angeles
adj. Having been delayed; done or sent too late: a belated birthday card. [be- + lated. response has been a slap on the wrist. An ad hoc committee ad hoc committee A committee formed with the purpose of addressing a specific issue or issues, which theoretically is disbanded once its raison d'etre is finished of the city Board of Taxicab Commissioners has decreed that henceforth From this time forward. The term henceforth, when used in a legal document, statute, or other legal instrument, indicates that something will commence from the present time to the future, to the exclusion of the past. , taxicab companies that continue paying the kickbacks can be fined as much as $30,000 for three offenses, and risk losing their franchises beyond that. Big deal. Some cab companies already spend as much as $500,000 for exclusive arrangements with hotels. An extra $30,000 is just a small surcharge An overcharge or additional cost. A surcharge is an added liability imposed on something that is already due, such as a tax on tax. It also refers to the penalty a court can impose on a fiduciary for breaching a duty. , one they can use to jack up their fares through the same sort of creative accounting they've already been using to disguise the kickbacks. And because the city isn't imposing any penalties on the hotels, the hotels have no reason to stop selling exclusive arrangements. The rip-off will surely continue, thanks to a government that thinks political posturing is an adequate substitute for regulatory enforcement. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion