A nickel here and a dime there, it all adds up to one more annoying penalty on consumers. How is this outcome different than a tax on bags?
A regressive tax on every citizen will be the result of this effort by the city council. This legislation will only increase the profit margin of the grocery and retail stores. Stores will pass along to consumers this traditional cost of doing business.
Why not charge consumer's a fee for using the grocery store parking lot? Perhaps people will stop driving to the grocery store? It makes about as much sense as banning grocery bags.
Plastic grocery bags can be made bio-degradable. Dog poop bags are made of biodegradable plastic, and they break down very quickly. Styrofoam can also be made biodegradable. The manufacturers of these products are already under considerable pressure to make them biodegradable.
It's really a matter of choice for the grocery chain: biodegradable bags are available. Is a vote by the city council really necessary? Each time the shopper is charged a fee for a grocery bag they'll remember the city council added that fee to their bill.
Frankly, I'm wondering how grocery bags have risen to the top of the priority list for the city council? I see grocery bags as a distraction from more important issues.
For example, I wonder why the city council is contemplating yet another expensive renovation of Seattle Center while my neighborhood waits for curbing? Or, how about the mayor's expensive "fix" for Mercer Street that is exorbitantly expensive and will actually increase travel time through the Mercer corridor instead of reducing travel time and diverting money that might fix neighborhood streets? Let's debate those issues.
Ray Akers
Columbia City[[In-content Ad]]