Posted on 01/23/2005 5:35:05 PM PST by John Jorsett
SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco may become the first city in the nation to charge shoppers for grocery bags. The city's environmental commission is expected to ask the mayor and board of supervisors Tuesday to consider a 17-cent-per-bag charge on paper and plastic grocery bags.
Their goal is to reduce plastic bag pollution. Environmentalists say plastic bags jam machinery, pollute waterways and often end up in trees.
Officials believe that the city spends five-point-two cents per bag annually for street litter pickup and one-point-four cents per bag for extra recycling costs.
But grocers and bag manufacturers argue that many people already reuse their plastic bags.
Other opponents call the plan an unfair and regressive tax on shoppers.
I stay in Amsterdam every summer. Holland has had that bag policy for years now. Most people bring their own bags ..With the expensive prices we have here the least they could do is give ya a damn bag GEEEEZZZZZZ
I don't know why anyone, who could, wouldn't move out of SF.
One way to resolve this is to bring your own bags."
Sure thing, but if this passes, somewhere down the road it will turn into a set amount city tax, levied on every resident.(see school taxes).
Yes, but there are limits to scale and payment accuracy and precision. I don't know what the exact state accuracy and precision requirements are, but if they allow for an amount of inaccuracy or imprecision greater than the weight of a bag (as would seem likely, at least for small bags), it would seem the requirement would just be to ensure that the bag doesn't push the accuracy/precision past legal standards.
If San Francisco puts a surcharge on vaseline, then they wouldn't have to go after grocery bags. Probably balance the budget to boot.
San Francisco is living up to its reputation as the most liberal city in America. Now you'll pay a premium for carrying your groceries home. A regressive tax on plastic bags is considered beneficial to the environment. Why, they've thought of everything up there! Next to that is, laying down minute rules on the care of dogs.
Why don't they join Sweden and be done with it.
They're just trying to drive out poor people. Walter Williams has repeatedly pointed out how few black people live in San Francisco while guest hosting on Rush's radio show.
Oh, you are such a wasteful tree destroyer if you use paper bags! Everyone must use plastic, plastic bags will save the world, we can save the Amazon rain forest if we all switch to plastic bags. The cry went up and the campaign went on until most people started using plastic.
Now, SF wants to tax people for using them! Way to go lefties, this is a new low. This has nothing to do with "charging for bags" it has to do with another way to tax people. SF the armpit of the US.
It was paper that was ruining the environment 30 years ago now it is the plastic bags they pushed so hard for then that are ruining SF. Crap! Soon we will have a state tax and then a fed bag tax!
I spend $1400/month to feed five children. They meet me at the curb with a polished up cart, a cup of coffee and every damn bag I need. How would the fruits in SanFran treat me for being so wastefully procreative.
The funny thing you guys as missing here is that practically ALL residents of San Francisco are in favor of this. It encourages people to bring their own bags, and I'd rather have the city generate some revenue this way than raising my property tax. I can't stand those damn plastic bags, and I have always brought my own bag to the store... the problem is that other, less considerate people, let them loose in the wind, and let them overload the landfill which MY TAXES pay for. Furthermore, it is VERY unlikely that this tax will happen in suburban areas (where I suspect most of you live) because the public wouldn't stand for it - in SF, the majority of shopping trips are walking trips to the store to get only one or two bags full of stuff. On the rare occasions when we get in a car to go on a major shopping trip, then we'll suck it up and pay a little tax, not that big a deal really.
As for the poor - it's very easy to get your hands on free canvas bags, and some stores plan to give them away - it's great PR.
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