California Assembly Approves Bill to Ban Plastic Bags
Yesterday, the California Assembly passed legislation that would prohibit grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores, and convenience stores from giving out plastic bags. The bill, AB 1998, still requires State Senate approval. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has already indicated that he would sign the bill into law if it came to his desk.
The bill would require stores to sell reusable bags beginning January 1, 2012. Stores would be forced to charge at least 5 cents per bag for recycled paper bags if customers do not have their own. If signed into law, California would be the first state to impose such a ban.
The goal is to get rid of plastic bags that sometimes wind up in urban rivers and the ocean, as well as to reduce the number of bags that make it to landfills. In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to require supermarkets and large drug stores to offer customers bags made only of recyclable paper, plastic that can be turned into compost, or sturdy cloth or plastic that can be reused.
AB 1998 is just a bad idea from the very beginning. Let’s start by looking at the costs involved. Requiring stores to charge customers for paper bags is a cost that Californians can't afford. The American Chemistry Council estimates the bill would amount to a $1 billion tax and threaten 500 jobs in the plastic bag manufacturing business. At a time when many are saving every penny in order to be able to pay their bills and stay above water, the Legislature should not be devising new methods to nickel and dime the people to death. Also, with the unemployment rate as high as it is in California, the Legislature should not be enacting laws that will put more people out of the job.
But on a broader level, I do not like this bill because it is an example of the government taking the ability to choose away from the people. As it is now, consumers can already purchase reusable bags and take them to the stores with them if they wish to do so. What I do not understand is why people would be willing to give away their right to choose. If a person does not want to use a reusable bag, that does not make that person a bad person. Why should we punish the person who does not have a reusable bag (or who does not want to look silly by using one) by charging them for a recycled paper bag? That isn’t fair. And there are many uses for plastic bags that a recycled paper bag simply cannot replicate. Personally, I like receiving plastic bags with some of my purchases simply because I know I can turn around and use those bags for other purposes. I want to be able to continue to receive plastic bags at the store. That is my personal preference, and it is currently my choice on whether to use the plastic bag or bring an alternative bag with me. I don’t like the government taking that choice away from me.
This is America. What ever happened to belief in the free market system? Right now, businesses decide what kinds of bags to make available to consumers based on a number of factors, including cost, utility of the bag, and customer preferences. Consumers can decide to bring their own reusable bags or use plastic bags. If a customer personally believes in not using plastic bags, that person can use their own reusable bag. But let’s look at a hypothetical situation that there were actually people in society who severely disliked the use of plastic bags. Unless these people were hypocrites, these people would choose to not shop at stores that used plastic bags. If a large number of such customers existed, they would hurt the bottom line of stores that used plastic bags. Realizing that they were losing customers because of the plastic bags, the stores that were originally using plastic bags, would stop using plastic bags. They would make this decision on their own, without the government forcing the decision upon them. The free market would cause the business to stop using plastic bags without the need for the government to step in.
But, of course, all of this revolves around a hypothetical belief that there are large enough numbers of customers who actually dislike plastic bags enough to not want to patronize a certain business if that business continued to use them. I don’t believe that this is the case in reality. In the real world, there are a few on the lunatic fringe who really care about trivial things such as plastic bags. It is insane for the government to enact such a sweeping law to ban plastic bags simply to cater to the wishes of the few environmental extremists.
I am tired of out-of-touch Legislators continuing to pass laws that take rights away from private businesses and individuals. That is not the type of thing that should be going on in an America that I want to live in. When I win my race for State Assembly, I vow to fight to stop any more of these ridiculous laws from being passed in California.
Please visit my official campaign website at:
www.Shahab2010.com