Sexism.

Not all bag fee opponents are men.

First they came for the bags, and I said nothing...

So "Seattle's Only Newspaper" isn't above reading the competition and calling them names.

Erica does Danny rise to the level of "complete fucking asshole" like the Jezebel bloggers?

Danny's argument is spot on. Laws are laws. You have them or you don't. A law is not "a small fee to motivate." A law is a requirement.

We the people of Seattle do not need Erica C. Barnett to save us from ourselves. We do not need you to tell us what we can and can not spend money on at the grocery store.

"small fees to motivate" can get you in the end... either jail like China or even more apathy, like in the US.

The results you're hoping for could quite likely being the opposite, which leads to more legislation, and and on and on and on. Hello, socialism.

1. Abortions on demand, anytime, any month, no reason required.

2. You are not allowed to give paying customers a free bag to carry all the stuff they just bought for you.

3. If you dare disagree for any reason whatsoever, that's just hyperbole.

4. I'm personally pleased to know my tax dollars will be used to hire a full-time tax auditor and an administrative specialist.

5. McCain for President.

Erica call me up we should hang out!

Our city council has failed so miserably at everything that their number one priority is now creating a gargabe tax to create more garbage?

Nick Licata, I fail to see how this garbage tax has any cultural relevence in our city.

Typical right-wing trash.

I hate the bag fee. I believe environmental responsibility should be taught not taxed. It's a lot harder but the results will be a lot greater and those are the results we need.

So you can't understand that any opposing point of view might be anything except "typical right-wing trash" Pretty close minded. Lots of reasonable people can agree on this and that doesn't mean they are "absurd" or "right wing" or "trash"

I never knew Seattle was such right wing trash...

from Danny's column:

Don't you think do-gooder Seattle could reduce its bag usage without inspectors? Tax auditors? A small, but new, layer of bureaucracy?

That's what you suggested, in a poll the city did last winter. By 67 to 32 percent, people said "no fees on bags." By 87 to 11 percent, you said "try having stores do this voluntarily."

I can't believe people there are freaking out so much about having to bring their own bags.

I know, let's just trust the people in charge who know what is best for everyone! That should work,, always has, right?

Of course not everyone will understand immediately, so we'll also need spend lots of money to hire two full time city employees to get the enforcement and ticketing and lawsuits started. Yeah!!! More incompetent city employees to solve our problems for us. Wooooooo HOoooooooooo!!

so what's the legacy of the late 70s /early 80's? doubling-down on an oil-fueled economy at the expense of any real efforts at energy independence. But hey, at least the gas was UNLEADED. so score two points for the environmentalists, ninety eight points for the Saudis and Cheneys.

This little plastic bag debate is nothing but a distraction. The environment is a much bigger problem than even your typical Slog alarmist shrill imagines.

Sorry, I had to say that in one breath, because I'm beyond sick of people whining about goddamn plastic bags. It's completely unnecessary to go on polluting the environment with this shit just 'cuz it's convenient for you. Same goes for one-use plastic water bottles and leaded gasoline. The amount of whining about this is fucking pathetic. If you can't be bothered to 1) pay 20 fucking cents for a bag or 2) bring your own, then you simply no longer deserve to live. In fact, after the new fee takes effect, I will buy each person that whine about this one last plastic bag to tie around your head and suffocate yourself.

That means you'll be buying about 375,000 bags.

At twenty cents a pop that'll cost you about $75,000.

Will you kill me with the bag yourself or are you advocating suicide? I guess I might have an opinion on that, but I would probably be wrong, and I wouldn't want to stress you out further.

Enough with the self-rightousness.

Condemning others for speaking their minds is the height of it.

Thy Name is Westneat? On Hyperbole Thy Name is Westneat?

WTF is that?!?! Try to behave.

Look, don't you get it - all but the top 0.1 percent of Americans are doing worse and don't have the extra 20 cents.

Very very very bad idea.

You must be fun at dinner parties too.

Danny Westneat is the ying to your yang.

To have any shot at producing a normal kids, you guys should breed. Perhaps you'd negate the crazy.

Anyway, the city is going to hire 2 full time employees for accounting, PLUS people to check compliance?

Figuring a couple hundred thousand a year of our taxpayer money... with that amount over a few years they could basically give every resident a couple canvas bags instead!

What an appalling use of city resources. CA is a bad comparison - people here aren't going to accept tax increases as readily.

and the true nanny state enlarges

erica is not capable of a give and take discussion

however, it seems she has a healthy fantasy about boxers

still hope for erica if she is boxer grounded

the plastic bag this is so pathetic, as Bush is about to start WAR NUMBER THREE, and I have no health insurance

and people are eating out of garbage cans

and live on the street

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

Or Seattle.

Want to cut down on discarded plastic or paper bags?

Fine - impose a 10 cent or 20 cent REFUNDABLE deposit at stores.

That would work and encourage REUSE, which cuts USAGE and send an economic signal to the BUSINESS interests that they shouldn't use so many bags - on an average trip to Fred Meyer, you end up with 10 plastic bags.

Even if you bring a backpack to PCC, you end up carrying one or two bags home with you - and keeping them in your backpack is less efficient than using them to make giant papier mache puppet heads of Darth Cheney and King George, IMHO.