Posted on 11/07/2008 3:31:39 PM PST by Eric Blair 2084
In its struggle to make New York more green, the Bloomberg administration has tried discouraging people from using plastic bags. It has taken out ads beseeching residents to use cloth bags and set up recycling bins for plastic bags at supermarkets.
But now the carrots have been put away, and the stick is out: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has called for charging shoppers 6 cents for every plastic bag needed at the register.
If the proposal passes, New York City would follow the lead of many European countries and become one of the first places in the United States to assess a so-called plastic bag tax.
Seattle voters will weigh in on a similar measure next year, and other places, like Los Angeles and Dallas, have studied the idea.
City officials estimate that the fee could generate $16 million a year, a figure that Mr. Bloomberg would no doubt appreciate, given the lingering and concussive effects of the global economic crisis on the citys economy.
But while the fee would burnish Mr. Bloombergs environmental record, it might not be a lasting source of revenue. Just a few weeks after Ireland adopted a similar, though much heftier tax in 2002 charging shoppers 33 cents a bag plastic bag use dropped 94 percent, and within a year, nearly everyone in that country had purchased reusable cloth bags. Still, the mayor believes that the 6-cent fee would have a major impact on consumers behavior.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Emperor- For -Life.
Weren’t there some people here that wanted this joker to be Vice President?
That’s the definition of Emperor. They don’t leave voluntarily.
People have a ton of plastic bags sitting underneath their sinks. If they charge a fee, just reuse the suckers.
No. No way. Not on this website.
This all reminds me of forcing people to drive small cars totally ignoring the needs of people with families.
I’ll take your word for it, maybe I just read an article here about some “Republicans” making the suggestion.
They do not.
Families and unborn children are meaningless to libs...they love animals, Earth and trees but they hate people, families and unborn children.
It wasn’t on FR. I promise you.
There was some talk from people high on crack maybe, possibly suggesting that Bloomberg could use his billions as McCain’s running mate to even things out.
In retrospect, it would have been nice. Bloomberg is too smart to waste his money like that. Much better to save it to buy pissant city councilcritters to do his bidding and stay on as emperor.
Whew! You had me scared there for a minute. My needs are freedom and for all civil serpents to remember that I, as a civilian, am their boss.
No. Forget it. Keep that ridiculous idea of gubmint working for me and you between us. They’ll taze you bro!
They’ll drag you in front of Congressional hearing led by Nostrildamus Waxman and talk down to you.
They spent months holding hearings on steroids in baseball and asking Roger Clemens and McNamara very important questions like...”who injected what in whose buttocks and when?”
Meanwhile fannie and freddie were running amok and in the process of causing a global economic crisis.
Than they just claim it’s all Bush’s fault and elect a Marxist.
When the fires burned Yellowstone we were told not to put them out. 20 years later...the new trees are awesome! When are they going to stop cutting down the poor trees to make all the newspapaers anyway....very soon in my view!
Yea, but I’m off setting my carbon footprint by eating those foul beasts that flatulate more than I contribute using my charcoal burning machine...I’m going green!
That’s a great way of looking at it and explaining it to the libs.
Stop bovine flatulence and methane gas. Save the Earth, eat a steak or 10....it’s our duty.
I love garlic pepper rubbed London Broil medium rare....AND I’m saving the planet!
As Ripley would say, "Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?"
Trouble is, no matter how much you tax him for breathing, he will be able to pay it.
Now let me get this straight. Food is on an upward price spiral. The cost of the plastic bags is already included in the food. The cost of administering the plastic bag tax will be added to the cost of the food. New Yorkers will probably be taxed again for sending the bag to the landfill.
Why people put up with this crap, I will never know.
Thanks for the ping!
He’s just a very silly man with a lot of money.
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