Bag "Tax" Propaganda is Low Blow
OK, so I'm listening to the radio today...yes, I still listen to the radio...and I hear this bizarre, sick ad urging Californians to demand that their representatives oppose AB 2058, the state bill that would require consumers to pay 25 cents for each biodegradable plastic bags they get at the grocery store.
The ad uses the big, scary, red-button-pushing word "tax." The T-word. The word "tax" incites fear, loathing and anger is perfect for scaring listeners into mindless action. Which is exactly what the sponsors are hoping will happen when they direct listeners to a specific website in order to air their grievances.
The ad uses the big, scary, red-button-pushing word "tax." The T-word. The word "tax" incites fear, loathing and anger is perfect for scaring listeners into mindless action. Which is exactly what the sponsors are hoping will happen when they direct listeners to a specific website in order to air their grievances. Oh and FYI, the ad is sponsored by the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council (the folks who produce plastic bags) and The California Film Extruders and Converters Association (the professional organization that represents folks who manufacture and supply plastic). Hmmm...I'm sure there's no ulterior motive there.
Let me make this clear: this ad and it's accompanying website are pure, unadulterated propaganda.
AB 2058 does not propose a bag tax, it proposes a voluntary fee. You will have to pay a fee for every plastic bag you CHOOSE to take from the grocery store. I liken this bag "tax" to the tax on cigarettes. And before you get all nuts, hear me out: a tax on cigarettes is a completely voluntary fee imposed on a product one buys by choice that is harmful to you and to the environment.
Don't want to pay the tax, don't buy cigarettes. Don't want to buy plastic bags, then don't. Put your groceries in paper, canvas or your pockets. This is not like a tax on gas or food, or something we all have no choice in buying. This is a penalty for lazy consumers.
And don't get all "It's the government trying to keep us down, man" on me. Since when do we a Americans have the inalienable right to free grocery bags. Grow up.
Charging for plastic bags works in it's efforts to reduce toxic plastic whenever it has been instituted on a large scale. Don't believe me, ask TREEHUGGER. ("What's so bad about plastic?" you ask...let's start HERE.)
For the record, here's who supports AB 2058:
- Californians Against Waste (Sponsor)
- County of Los Angeles (Sponsor)
- Sierra Club
- Surfrider Foundation
- Heal the Bay
- Alameda County Waste Management Authority (Stopwaste)
- Ballona Creek Renaissance
- California Coastal Coalition
- California League of Conservation Voters
- ChicoBag
- City and County of San Francisco Department of the Environment
- City of Oakland
- East Bay Municipal Utilities District
- Marin County Board of Supervisors
- Marin County Hazardous and Solid Waste Management Joint Powers Authority
- Northern California Recycling Association
- Planning and Convservation League
- San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority
- Sonoma County Waste Management Agency
And here's who opposes it:
- American Chemistry Council
- California Grocers Association
- California Retailers Association
Huh, look at that. Whose team do you want to be on? To show your support, go HERE or HERE.
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About this blog
Roxanne Kotzman is a Daily News Photo Department veteran of nine years. When she and longtime friend Stacy Long
discovered their love all of all things environmentally responsible, they launched Happy Monkey Planet and jumped head-first into the vibrant eco-community.
Wow, so much to learn! But initially the idea is a pretty simple one: Let's change the world through information, education and action.
Rox & Stacy are a lot like you: ecologically minded but sometimes just plain overwhelmed when charged with the task of making a far-reaching difference in the environment. They have jobs, families, homes, lives and pets.
But what if doing better was a simple as a light-bulb change, a reusable canvas grocery bag, recycling that soda can or a cold-water wash?
These eco-chicks just hope to have a little fun, learn a little more, share a lot of information and maybe make the planet a happier, greener, cleaner place.
Sorry, any required payment of funds to a government is a TAX!!! Whether you pay the tax (such as the tobacco tax) is a personal decision. But this bogus fee/tax taking of people's money by the government is a TAX!!
Ah yes, but the point here is that it's a tax BY CHOICE. Don't like it, don't pay it. I oppose the tone of the ad that implies the IRS will come to your home to collect the bag tax regardless of whether or not you used a plastic bag. It's a cheap, blatant fear tactic.
You don't have to pay this particular tax, unlike the gazillions of mandatory taxes we pay for services we may or may not be utilizing.
The more I think about this, the madder I get. Since when is it the government's role to determine how a consumer and a business conclude the transaction with how the consumer takes away the purchased product. The government is already scamming the 8.25 percent sales tax from most purchases (excluding purchased food). It has no right to interfere and mandate that I as a consumer pay a tax if the business wishes to use a plastic bag. Government is too much involved with our lives. Low-flow toilets that do not work properly. CFL bulbs that do not work in fixtures with dimming switches (I tried and lost two CFLs). Banning transfats.
When did the people give the government the right to regulate these activities? I don't see it in either the California or US Constitutions.
Too much nanny state. If I want socialistic governments, I will move to Europe.
You can buy, borrow or make reusable bags you don't pay a cent! Just get some bags. You are paying taxes to recycle and landfill these plastic bags. The money is simply hidden in other taxes. But you are paying Sir. Believe me you are paying.
I agree with gregb in that I too do not like the idea of the government sticking it's nose in my business... but what I have greater issue with is big business, (like the plastics and cigarette companies), making products that harm us and our environment and then doing nothing but rake in our hard earned money with no responsibility on their part.
I also wish we didn't have to have a 'nanny state' but unfortunately there are too many inconsiderate idiots out there who can't seem to be bothered sticking their butts, (or plastic bags), in the appropriate receptacle - and these few bad apples ruin things for all of us... so we have to actually make laws and have consequences for acts most of us know better about!!!