Regressive bag tax

Colorado just enacted a fee per single use bags at establishments with 4 or more locations. I voted for this tax because I voted for a representative and because I did not voice my concern with this bill. In retrospect this tax is regressive, poorly designed and misplaced.

The fee is regressive because the tax is equal regardless of the income of the buyer. The argument to "bring bags from home" assumes you can afford bags at home, you have a stable enough schedule or transportation to keep bags with you ("just put them in the car when you're done") and that the bags are actually better for the environment. If a fee were to be put in place that was multifaceted in the structure (transportation, income, grocery haul size, etc) it would be more difficult to implement, cause more friction with customers and thus never get implemented. This isn't a bad thing.

Most items purchased are shipped in non-recyclable single use containers. My one bag that contains that 5-10 non-recyclable items is more problematic and needs more addressing. There are multiple issues that arise from this: 1) Shelf stable food is a huge advancement 2) Any cost increase in the packaging will be passed on the consumer (if the 5-10 items all saw a minor price increase, it would like be more than 10 cents) and 3) it would be a massive overhaul to logistically switch a lot of the containers.

Recycling has been documented as a scam that was invented by the mass corporations to make people comfortable with the plastic consumption. The bag tax feels like the same skinned catfish. We are misplacing the burden on the consumer of the products to either voice to the company their dissatisfaction with the packaging (the board will override any change) or to pay a fee to the store for the bags you need to carry the products they sell you.

This does not have to be the way it is and there will never be a perfect system for single use plastics while they exist in non-recyclable forms. The bag fee is an approach that will help make people more aware of their consumption through inconvenience. It will help line the pockets of stores but it is doubtful that your meat will stop being wrapped in cylophane or that your sausage will not being plastic tubes... And that is where the change needs to start.