Last week, another “first in the nation” law took effect in the City of San Diego.
There’s usually a reason no one decides to jump in front of California to grab “first in the nation” honors for themselves – it is a bad idea.
Such is the case with San Diego’s new city ordinance.
Under the so-called “Grocery Pricing Transparency Ordinance” – which has nothing to do with price transparency and everything to do with government control of the private sector – San Diego has banned grocery stores from offering its customers digital-only coupons.
One can imagine the discussion behind closed doors at City Hall.
“It’s too convenient for people to save money when shopping. Somebody should put a stop to this!”
Akin to mandating that we all back to driving a horse and buggy, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, “the ban is designed to force grocery stores to provide paper coupons to everyone.”
Surprisingly, greens in a very green city aren’t on the same page with their fellow liberals at the State Capitol, who have tried to ban long paper receipts filled with coupons to save trees and push stores to go all digital.
Initially drafted without input from grocers – who would have actually had some good feedback about how such a paper coupon mandate would impact customers – the Union-Tribune reported that many chains were not even aware of the ordinance before its first council vote in March.
City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, the ordinance co-sponsor, told KPBS News that, “we’re not trying to punish people”, and that “the idea of the ordinance is to offer equal access to discounts for everybody.”
As is typically the case with a misguided government mandate, every customer is now having the same experience of being punished more at the checkout stand with fewer discounts.
Albertsons, corporate parent of Vons and Pavilions stores, said the new city ordinance will “severely (limit) the number of discounts and coupons” available to customers in its 29 stores within the city limits,” reports NBC San Diego.
In a post to customers, Vons said that since “some vendors and manufacturers have not provided alternative formats for their digital offers resulting in a reduced number of promotions and digital deals available” for every customer.
The ordinance’s other co-sponsor, Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, told KPBS that digital-only coupons “disadvantage those in the digital divide . . . (which) often includes seniors, low-income households, and nonnative English speakers, and often these populations are most impacted by higher food costs.”
So how does taking away discounts for these communities and all shoppers help alleviate the issue of higher food prices?
His other arguments also don’t hold water.
San Diego was rated by Ooma as the nation’s 9th most connected U.S. city in a 2024 report – 94.7 percent of residents had access to some type of broadband. Many low-income individuals are eligible for free smartphones that can access digital coupons through the California LifeLine Program. The city’s Digital Navigator Program provides free help to seniors struggling with technology learn how to access digital-only coupons.
Meanwhile, it’s plain offensive to say non-native English speakers and immigrants can’t use digital apps. Last time I checked, the Internet is used globally and in every language.
The San Diego ordinance is the latest state and local governments intrusion into grocery stores, which I have written about previously. pork products cost about 20 percent more under the state’s Prop. 12 regulations. Government green mandates drive up store electricity costs while increased fuel costs increases food transportation costs. And cities imposed “hero pay” mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed labor costs higher and caused some stores to close.
Justine Murray of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce said of the ordinance that, “it’s a little bit of solving a problem for a few, but creating a problem for more.”
Truer words have never been said.
It reminds me of the old Ronald Reagan adage – “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government and I’m here to help.
Tim Anaya is the Pacific Research Institute’s vice president of marketing and communications and co-author of The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide.
