Letters : Ideas on Rationing Freeway Access

Los Angeles Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky’s recent “idea” that it might be interesting to see what happens if the city initiated a plan to ration access to streets and freeways during rush hour traffic appears to reflect an ignorance of the income-generating requirements of one of Southern California’s largest and most important population segments, namely outside salespeople.

There’s an old saying at the cornerstone of American business: Nothing moves until someone sells something. Furthermore, as anyone involved with sales will tell you, there are only so many hours of selling time available in a business day. Any plan which further limits these hours is sure to have an adverse effect not only on the paychecks of those who make their living in sales but on the companies that employ them.

Unlike politics, making a living in sales is directly related to day-to-day performance, and success or failure is reflected every payday, not every few election years.

Unlike politicians, sales people cannot solicit donations from their customers to influence their employers with the need to allow them to keep their jobs.

And unlike politicians, salespeople cannot vote themselves a raise whenever they feel things are getting a little lean.

Most outside salespeople, by the very nature of their jobs, cannot make use of social engineering plans such as car pools, rapid transit or rationed access, no matter how well-intentioned these plans may be. The myriad of catalogues, sample cases and equipment they must carry preclude this. Neither are they privy to a staff of paid assistants and aides to help them. They’re simply out there doing their best, most often on their own, and if they don’t produce they don’t get paid! Restructuring the way business is conducted does not seem like a viable approach to traffic congestion.

Councilman Yaroslavsky suggested his remark was only an “idea” that would be interesting “to see what that’s like.” Here’s another couple of ideas that could prove interesting. First, let’s appoint a commission to study the drop in sales revenue that companies who employ outside sales people could expect from such a plan. It might prove interesting to see how campaign contributions from business might be affected. Second, is such a plan were initiated, it might be interesting to see what would happen if all the people in Southern California whose outside sales income was affected joined together and initiated a class-action suit against the city.

Well, it’s only an idea.

JAY W. HYER

Lake View Terrace