3 bags plz.

1/4/2010 2:40:44 PM

since no one reads the last post on a page...

Quote :

"Regardless, your proposed idea has less to do with personal responsibility of one's choices and more with limiting the choices. Your solution is to charge people for making a legal decision from a preordained set of options. When you limit one's choices and attempt to force a decision on them then you are ultimately babying them and removing any option of personal responsibility."

okay, i used poor wording because that's quite what i meant...i guess my point was that since we obviously aren't making good choices on our own (unless you're saying that throwing away large amounts of non-renewable-yet-very-recyclable is a "good" option), so the government has to step in and make the choice for us...i don't see it as babying so much as good parenting

i DO understand that this falls under the "OMG THE GUBMENT IS TAKING AWAY MY LIBERTIES, WE'RE ALL GOING COMMUNIST!" category that so many people like to throw government regulation into, but i think at some point, stupid/lazy/ignorant people need some maturity and responsibility forced on them

1/4/2010 2:42:23 PM

old plastic bags are handy to have around...why would anyone just throw them away?

1/4/2010 2:44:12 PM

Quote :

"why would anyone just throw them away?"

why do people do any number of stupid things? laziness is a big factor, i would think

i agree with you, though...i keep target bags around, since they're thicker than most shopping bags

1/4/2010 2:49:36 PM

^^^ While I agree with the basic principles of what you said there I cannot agree with them in this application. I admit, when we fail to act responsibly and repeatedly prove we cannot take care of ourselves then government intervention can be expected. However, i have 4 points that prohibit me from approving any potential legislation of this nature.

1. I do not believe we have reached that critical nature in this instance, since many users themselves are transitioning to clothed bags AND since supply chains are starting to give rebates for the use of such bags since the selling of these bags makes them a profit as well as reduces the money they need to spend on purchasing additional plastic bags.

2. I find the tax regressive, meaning that the 5, 10, 15 cents and eventual dollar per bag it costs will most largely impact those of lower incomes negatively

3. The tax punishes people who have the least input on receiving the bags. Namely the customer who gets to the line where someone begins to package their purchased goods in a bag that was already once purchased and distributed by the store at which they're shopping. If the tax is meant to address a culprit, then it is addressing the wrong one.

4. Legislation can be a handy tool, but additional taxation rarely solves anything since the tax eventually becomes viewed as part of the cost, much like sales tax or gas tax, and since the funds that are collected are rarely effectively distributed.

[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 2:52 PM. Reason : ^ +1]

1/4/2010 2:52:46 PM

Quote :

"largely impact those of lower incomes negatively"

What if I can’t afford to buy reusable bags?
DDOE is partnering with a number of grocery and drug stores, District Government agencies, Council offices and various community service organizations to give away tens of thousands of bags to low-income and senior District residents, and we will have even more bags available early next year.

You can also bring disposable bags back to the store or restaurant and reuse them, avoiding the fee and receiving a credit on your bill at participating businesses. Finally, if you shop with a rolling cart that you bring from home, consider asking the cashier to put your groceries directly in the cart without bagging them.

1/4/2010 2:59:22 PM

I also use my plastic bags for my rabbit, bird, cat, and dog waste or to transport things.

Quote :

"haha i learned that years ago. i always inflate the bag in the air and look through it to see if there's holes "

I, too, do this

[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 3:01 PM. Reason : .]

1/4/2010 3:01:14 PM

Quote :

"Finally, if you shop with a rolling cart that you bring from home"

lol wut?

1/4/2010 3:02:33 PM

probably referring to Hoveround and Rascal scooters

1/4/2010 3:04:30 PM

^4You do understand that is the initiative of just one area and would in no way be indicative of a consistent trend in any district where such a law were to take place.

Not to mention that many poor families use those plastic bags as trash bags, so simply returning these bags would not always be in their best interest.

Regardless, the quoted portion further exemplifies the types of processes required to implement such a law that would ultimately reduce the net effect of the collect funds in terms of application towards the situation they are meant to remedy.

Either way, that doesn't reasonably refute the claim of regressive taxation.

[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 3:06 PM. Reason : 4]

1/4/2010 3:06:36 PM

ok don't even make fun of those rolling carts i have one

it is from my gma cause she doesn't grocery shop anymore

i DONT take it to the grocery store but i DO keep it in my car because it is easier to bring my groceries into my condo that way (i have to park far away from it)

but i have thought about walking to the gstore and pushing it cause i live semi close to one.

1/4/2010 3:07:03 PM

oooooooh, y'all are talking about those little rectangular fold up things with the rollerblade wheels

I've only seen hobos and old people use those.

[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 3:10 PM. Reason : asdf]

1/4/2010 3:09:55 PM

1/4/2010 3:11:10 PM

i like the way sam's does it. they bring some of their empty boxes up front and you just throw your shit in one if you want to. you can use it at home to put shit in or recycle it.

i wouldn't mind using those reusable shopping bags.

1/4/2010 3:14:56 PM

Quote :

"many poor families use those plastic bags as trash bags"

I use them as trash bags, and I don't consider myself poor.

I like the incentives that some stores are giving for using the reusable bags. If I use my reusable Gap bag, then I get 10% off my purchase at any Gap store. That's nice.

[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 3:18 PM. Reason : Gap]

1/4/2010 3:16:27 PM

i use them as trash bags too in my bathroom and office trash cans

1/4/2010 3:17:00 PM

I DOUBLE BAG EVERYTHING JUST TO PISS OFF TREE HUGGERS.

ok, I didn't read the whole thread

1/4/2010 3:17:07 PM

how much does a kitchen trash can liner cost?

1/4/2010 3:18:31 PM

Bought a bag of the Glad Tall Kitchen 45 count for ~$4 yesterday.

1/4/2010 3:19:33 PM

thats $4 you're gonna throw in the trash, congratulation

[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 3:20 PM. Reason : .]

1/4/2010 3:20:02 PM

yeah, i really had no idea

the last time i bought kitchen bags, I bought the 500 count at Costco

1/4/2010 3:22:19 PM

I only shop for 2-3 days at a time, so its rare that I ever have more than 2-3 bags worth of shit

But I do like stockpiling bags for some reason, I'm not quite sure why

1/4/2010 3:23:08 PM

Quote :

"actually, no...because those plastic bags are my cat litter bags"

So maybe you should fucking pay for them.

1/4/2010 3:36:36 PM

Quote :

"You people whine so much about taxes and then wonder why this state is in the fucking gutter. A tax on bags would help the environment, reduce waste, and bring in revenue. It's win/win/win."

http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/easley_on_the_60_cheeseburger

1/4/2010 3:37:27 PM

Thanks for completely ignoring the second sentence in my post.

1/4/2010 3:39:24 PM

It's applicable to basically any product that's made and sold on earth, isn't it?

1/4/2010 3:58:33 PM

don't you go and point out how his argument is beyond specious. There's no room for that here. if you're against this tax, then you're against the environment!

1/4/2010 4:01:16 PM

lol at more tree-hugger taxes



I will not support any new taxes- I don't care if they are to support minority single family baby seal college tuition

1/4/2010 4:06:14 PM

^ i'll ask you the same as I asked Duke...

what about a deposit as opposed to a tax? then you'd have the choice of whether to pay or not



[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 4:10 PM. Reason : 4]

1/4/2010 4:09:28 PM

Quote :

"So maybe you should fucking pay for them."

I'm pretty sure we already do. The store considers them an expense, so their prices account for it.

1/4/2010 4:10:05 PM

you mean getting rewarded to recycle them or return them?


where is the money going to come from? taxes from somewhere else to do something that these people should be doing anyway- I'm not saying I'm not for recycling and all that green shit. Hell, I just bought my first reusable grocery sack from Harris Teeter over the break. I just think that people shouldn't be rewarded for these things

1/4/2010 4:11:35 PM

take your own bag in to store = don't have to pay 5 cents

use store's bag = pay 5 cents


it's your choice. not a mandatory tax. it's all about choice

1/4/2010 4:13:49 PM

You can't do a deposit, bags are too hard to count by weight or number. I would think that cans are mechanically counted in a machine, because if you deposited a few full beers by weight, you'd make out like a mad man.

Taxing bag usage seems idiotic, bags (as a product) are purchased at a cost which is incorporated into the profit margin calculations for the store. If the plastic is a problem, tax the motherfucking, God damned, piece of shit, baby hating, seal bashing, tree killing, environment raping polyethylene manufacturers. The cost will trickle down from there.

And no, the deposit fees are not 'ownership' as you can no longer recycle the cans for their metal value and make money as you can here.

1/4/2010 4:25:10 PM

^^ that already happens at stores that have chosen to do that and the shoppers who choose to patron there experience the cost/benefit equation. this is an example of when it is all about choice. however, mandating it into law transitions it into a situation that is anything but being all about choice.

[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 4:25 PM. Reason : ^+1]

1/4/2010 4:25:35 PM

I think if a store decided to charge for bags, that's their own choice- it would be a douchey choice, but their own choice nonetheless, and I don't think my opinion should matter one way or another (my decision to visit said establishment, however, might be affected by said business practices)


I don't think they should be forced to do such by the government, however- this is like the smoking debate. It should be the store owners decision on if he is gonna charge for bags or not (kinda like charging for a cup of water at a restaurant or refills, etc...)

1/4/2010 4:26:50 PM

I'm against a tax on grocery bags. I use 2-3 bags a day to pick up my dog's shit. What else am I going to pick up my dog's shit with?

1/4/2010 4:58:50 PM