No more food perks on the job

Iadmire Mountain View’s move to bar companies from fully subsiding the employee meals. How can the local cafes and restaurants compete with upscale cafeterias giving out free meals?

Residents, too, are negatively affected when local restaurants go out of business.

Occasional treats by employers would be nice surprises and would boost employee morale at work. However, we in the community feel both envy and resentment toward employers giving out free gourmet meals to their employees and families. I have heard that some employees bring their families and friends to work for a free gourmet dinner, with take-out packages as souvenirs.

Although the value of certain meals is as a tax-free benefit to employees, spouses and dependents, and a deductible business expense by an employer, many conditions need to be met to be qualified. Some employers abuse it by taking an aggressive tax position.

It is convenient to have cafeterias at work. Spending all day inside an artificially beautified campus and hanging out with people from work makes them feel safe. But it deprives them of being connected to the community and the real world.

How can they create good products and provide good services for the general public if they stay inside their own bubble all day?