Politicians Rethink Plastic Bag Tax Due to Recession
Seattle city officials' decision to charge a 20-cent charge per plastic or paper shopping bag is up in the air, and scheduled to go to the voters in August, according to a recent article in the NY Times. Even an aide to a councilman who first sponsored the bill is doubtful about the outcome, due to the economic climate. In Portland, Mayor Sam Adams has said that he would not pursue such a fee, saying, "Now is not the time."Even as support increased in pockets across the country, the economy has taken its tumble, and since then, no state has imposed a fee or a ban on disposable shopping bags, fearing public backlash.
Of course, across the country, paper and plastic bag makers have also been raising resistance. SaveThePlastic Bag, a group representing bag makers, offers these suggestions as opposed to taxes and bans: 1) Encourage people to reuse the disposable bags 2) Install more and better recycling receptacles 3) Publicize reuse at the checkout 4) Sell reusable bags at checkout.
While times certainly are tight right now, some argue that such a tax could raise much-needed tax revenues during this economic crunch. As long as the tax is small enough (20 cents, for example, might be on the high side), I don't see the problem.
What do you think? Do you think charging a tax per disposable shopping bag at this time is still a worthy pursuit, or that this is not the right time?
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