January 25, 2005

Only in San Francisco

This is taking the nanny-state idea a bit too far - from Reuters: bq. City Ponders Ecology Tax for Grocery BagsSan Francisco, which has long prided itself on environmentally friendly policies, is debating whether it should become the first U.S. city to tax grocery bags to encourage recycling. bq. On Tuesday, the city's Department of the Environment will vote on whether to recommend a 17 cent fee on each bag, be it paper or plastic, in an effort to curb the use of an estimated 50 million bags a year in the Californian city. This is downright stupid. Where will the tax be collected - when the store owner buys a box of bags? At the point of sale? There is no word in the article who would benefit from the tax. Posted by DaveH at January 25, 2005 4:19 PM