Senator wants quarter cent tax on diapers to promote recycling

Associated Press ^ | 2-13-03

[Oldeconomybuyer]

This little guy needs to start paying taxes ...

[TexasRepublic]

The parents can begin recycling efforts by sending the dirties to that tax-happy politician's office.

[TXBubba]

extra incentive to get their youngsters potty trained

What parent in their right mind doesn't want their child potty trained? The problem is that too many parents try to push it before the child is physically able to do it. I would work on making diapers that are more biodegradable myself. (Is that a word? Biod?)

[c0rbin]

We use machine-washable cloth diapers (Bumpkins and Mother-Ease).

Not only are we not dumping diapers, we are also helping to potty train our children as cloth diapers do not suck the moisture away from the babies as efficiently as the disposables do. This helps the little poopers make the mental connection between the need to relieve themselves and the results.

The added work of extra laundry encourages us to take a more proactive hand in helping our children use the potty.

Unfortunately it is highly possible that the "eco-margin" is narrowed by the fact our washing machine runs more often than other households.

[Willie Green]

A ¼¢ tax isn't going to provide any economic incentive for recyling.
It is much too small, but will accumulate revenue for the state.

IMHO, Democratic Sen. Don Perata should personally collect a "deposit" instead.

[mhking]

I tell ya what - I'll send him all the sh*tty diapers that we go through each week. He can recycle them all he wants. In the meantime, he can keep his grubby paws off of my wallet.

[RJCogburn]

A ¼¢ tax isn't going to provide any economic incentive for recyling.

Exactly, Willie. It will have no effect whatsoever on the people who buy these. Is the money from the tax 'earmarked' for landfill use? Public landfills? Private? An idiotic idea at least on the information available.

[Political Junkie Too]

I'm so confused...

I thought they were discouraging cloth diapers and encouraging disposable diapers to conserve water? Now they want to tax disposable diapers? Won't that push people back to cloth diapers?

My brain hurts again...

-PJ

[wbill]

Wait a minute......what a dilemma for liberals.

In this case, taxes are bad because they'll take money away from families (even low-income families) with children. But we need to save the environment, too. What to do, what to do, what to do.......

Is there anyway to only tax families that voted for Bush? They're all rich anyway, you know.

[TXBubba]

I have a very proactive hand in helping my child learn to use the potty and it had nothing to do with what kind of diaper was used. The same incentive of doing the laundry can be applied to not spending the money on the diapers. Either way it is nice when you don't have to change the things anymore. Remember there are those children who simply do not mind being wet. I have had other parents tell me they have started potty training before the kid can even say the word. With every case there are exceptions but some folks just don't even have a clue.

[IYAS9YAS]

I'll admit, I don't have a clue...what is the proper time? Gonna be needing this info in about 8 more months...Grin!

[O.C. - Old Cracker]

So now the nuttiest state in the Union wants to break the 100+ year ban on under age child labor and make little diaper wearing toddlers pay to soil their drawers? Outrageous!

I hate California. All we need is a good, strong quake and it'll slide off into the sea.

[c0rbin]

Thanx for the reply, TXBubba (I'm in Houston myself).

Attention is they key to raising children, I am glad we agree.

I don't think the kind of diaper one uses is going to potty train their children for them.

[vannrox]

Let me guess...
Democrat?

[Nebr FAL owner]

Man I would not want to work in the postal service sub station that delivers mail to those jokers they are gonna get a whole sh*t load of sh*tty diapers sent to them & to be blunt it couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of morons!

[ZULU]

"The diapers can take up to 500 years to decompose. More than 20 billion of them were sent to U.S. dumps in 2000, Perata said."


I have a great idea. We can require each recipient of $10.00 in U.S. foreign aid to accept 1,000 dirty diapers.
They can then use them to spawn a recycling industry, using the processed feces as fertizer, so we won't have to keep feeding them!

[TXBubba]

That is where it gets really vague. Every kid is different. Some are ready early and some are ready late. When the kid can pull their pants up and down is a good clue because they certainly aren't going to go by themselves if they can't. One piece of advice is to begin when they start sleeping through the night and have a dry diaper. Again, every kid is different and this may not be an indicater for all. It's also been an assumption that girls train quicker than boys. I think birth order may have implications also. The second kid watches the first and gets the hang of it quicker.

[anymouse]

Maybe he is trying to burn his diaper in protest. LOL!

[TXBubba]

Are you guys as wet and dark outside as we are today? (Austin) Just miserable.