San Francisco's New "Bag People"
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Just when you thought San Francisco couldn't get any more pathetic:
Of course, the cost of street litter pickup is not 5.2 cents per bag, but (essentially) zero cents per bag, since the streets would be cleaned anyway. (We all remember the difference between marginal cost and average cost from Econ. 101, right?)
And did you notice that little "cigarette tax" maneuver -- they want to reduce waste rather than raise money? Then why not just ban plastic bags outright? Provide those free cloth "shoppers' bags" (a la free recycling bins for every home). Of course it's about the money -- it's always about the money.
I hope they pass the stupid tax -- I'd enjoy seeing the black market that arises, especially among San Francisco's (quite ubiquitous) beggar population: "Psst! I got primo bags right here buddy, straight from Sausalito -- just 10 cents! Oh, and you ain't no plastic bag cop, are ya? Cuz you gotta tell me if you're a cop, or that's entrapment..."
Eventually we'll even have special episodes of "COPS: Bag Patrol." Or some third-rate sitcom will rip off the (two-part) Seinfeld episode where Kramer and Newman try to smuggle 5-cent cans into a 10-cent state.
Laugh so you don't cry.
UPDATE: More laughing and crying over at Hit & Run.
San Francisco may become the first city in the nation to charge shoppers for grocery bags.
The city's Commission on the Environment 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. While the goal is reducing plastic bag pollution, paper was added so as not to discriminate.
"The whole point is to encourage the elimination of waste, not to make people pay more for groceries," said Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste.
Environmentalists argue that plastic bags jam machinery, pollute waterways and often end up in trees. In addition to large supermarkets, other outfits that regularly use plastic bags, including smaller grocery stores, dry cleaners and takeout restaurants, could eventually be targeted.
Officials calculate that the city spends 5.2 cents per bag annually for street litter pickup and 1.4 cents per bag for extra recycling costs.
Of course, the cost of street litter pickup is not 5.2 cents per bag, but (essentially) zero cents per bag, since the streets would be cleaned anyway. (We all remember the difference between marginal cost and average cost from Econ. 101, right?)
And did you notice that little "cigarette tax" maneuver -- they want to reduce waste rather than raise money? Then why not just ban plastic bags outright? Provide those free cloth "shoppers' bags" (a la free recycling bins for every home). Of course it's about the money -- it's always about the money.
I hope they pass the stupid tax -- I'd enjoy seeing the black market that arises, especially among San Francisco's (quite ubiquitous) beggar population: "Psst! I got primo bags right here buddy, straight from Sausalito -- just 10 cents! Oh, and you ain't no plastic bag cop, are ya? Cuz you gotta tell me if you're a cop, or that's entrapment..."
Eventually we'll even have special episodes of "COPS: Bag Patrol." Or some third-rate sitcom will rip off the (two-part) Seinfeld episode where Kramer and Newman try to smuggle 5-cent cans into a 10-cent state.
Laugh so you don't cry.
UPDATE: More laughing and crying over at Hit & Run.
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Posted by KipEsquire on
24 January 2005
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