# This stupid fucking bag ban in California **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 27, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112 "2016-11-27T00:02:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/41 "2016-11-27T02:51:40Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Certainly, because whenever I go on holiday somewhere, the first thing I do when I arrive is go out grocery shopping, preferably to an authentic farmer’s market where I can get a couple of live chickens, and then I bring it all back to … wait, where do you stay when you’re on holiday? Hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, the usual places people on holiday stay. Sometimes they’re self-catered (ie you have to buy your own food and cook it), sometimes I just want to get snacks and stuff that aren’t available where I live. Or I don’t feel like paying Minibar prices for drinks. Or an one of a squillion other perfectly normal reasons for buying stuff while on holiday. And as **Dewey Finn** notes, these bag bans usually include department stores and retailers generally, not just the supermarket. So that means when I go to the outlet mall or the chemist or wherever, there’s yet another random cost that’s boosted the price of my shopping. From my perspective, it’s less about the actual cost (10c isn’t a huge sum of money) and more about the feeling I’m still being ripped off in some small way. It’s not a great impression for visitors, basically. ---
**Author:** ![UberArchetype](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/2bfe46/32.png) [@UberArchetype](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UberArchetype)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/42 "2016-11-27T02:53:57Z")
Maybe I missed it (like THAT never happens :rolleyes:) but who gets the $.10/bag? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/43 "2016-11-27T02:54:35Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > So what if the “tax” is regressive. It’s not even a tax. It’s a fee. And it’s optional. If only all taxes were so regressive. Yes of course it’s not technically a tax. But for all practical purposes, there is no difference at all. Do you really think a poor person gives a shit _which_ fucking jackass sitting on a pile of money gets to take more of what little she has with some bullshit extra fee? > [@UberArchetype](#): > > Maybe I missed it (like THAT never happens :rolleyes:) but who gets the $.10/bag? The retailer does get it. Which kinda makes it worse, since the regressive fee/tax enriches private corporations even further, rather than the state. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/44 "2016-11-27T03:08:04Z")
My wife is German and they typically use their own bags there, so she had me doing it pretty much since we met. You can usually find a set of 3 sturdy, reusable bags for a buck around here (though they tend to be 1 for a buck int he actual grocery store). I always have a bag or tow in the back of the car, just in case, and we always carry them with us if we know we’re headed shopping. We’ve only got one planet, and it’s more important than your .10c “tax”. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/45 "2016-11-27T03:09:17Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > That said I’m a populist liberal who places far more importance on economic issues and the state of _current_ lives and _current_ struggles of the people, over the theoretical long- to very-long-term. Honestly, you’re coming off as the annoying sort of privileged liberal who thinks he knows what’s best for the poor better than they do, and without ever talking to them. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/46 "2016-11-27T03:09:56Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > How much extra does this work out to per a shopping trip—percentage-wise? > > $100 worth of groceries requires how many 10¢ bags? I’m sure that someone shopping for a family of 6-8 uses quite a few bags every week. And if Abuelita, with multiple untreated medical conditions (because that’s how it goes in America), doesn’t bring bags with her even one single time for any reason, it’s guaranteed to hurt someone living under the poverty line. Which as of 2016 is $32,580 for a family of **six** ($24,300 for a family of four, or $11,880 for someone living alone). And that’s 23.8% of CA’s 38 million people ([cite](http://www.ibtimes.com/fools-gold-california-has-highest-poverty-rate-united-states-1548707)), as of last census. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/47 "2016-11-27T03:11:24Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Yes of course it’s not technically a tax. But for all practical purposes, there is no difference at all. Do you really think a poor person gives a shit _which_ fucking jackass sitting on a pile of money gets to take more of what little she has with some bullshit extra fee? > > The retailer does get it. Which kinda makes it worse, since the regressive fee/tax enriches private corporations even further, rather than the state. It’s a choice and not even a difficult one. If the world ever becomes serious about global warming and charging for carbon emissions how would the poor adapt to that? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/48 "2016-11-27T03:11:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Honestly, you’re coming off as the annoying sort of privileged liberal who thinks he knows what’s best for the poor better than they do, and without ever talking to them. I’ve lived under or very close to the poverty line for 7 of the last 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/49 "2016-11-27T03:14:34Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Do you really think a poor person gives a shit _which_ fucking jackass sitting on a pile of money gets to take more of what little she has with some bullshit extra fee? She’s poor, not stupid. I grew up fairly poor, and people who don’t have a lot make sure to make the most of what they do have. She’ll find herself some reusable bags or improvise some other solution, because she’ll make a point of not letting Big Retail get any more of her money than they have coming. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/50 "2016-11-27T03:16:20Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Honestly, you’re coming off as the annoying sort of privileged liberal who thinks he knows what’s best for the poor better than they do, and without ever talking to them. Yeah - I mean, an actual poor person chimed in here and he apparently didn’t see her and/or is ignoring her. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/51 "2016-11-27T03:17:55Z")
> [@Azeotrope](#): > > She’s poor, not stupid. A: What if she is stupid though? My argument is that regressive taxes are still the wrong way to do things regardless, and B: Even if she’s not stupid, she may just not have her shit together, for a myriad of reasons (such as the aforementioned untreated medical conditions), and is not always gonna have bags with her. That’s a fact, regardless of how you believe people should ideally behave. And then it does become a clearly regressive tax. And that’s just plain wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/52 "2016-11-27T03:25:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yeah - I mean, an actual poor person chimed in here and he apparently didn’t see her and/or is ignoring her. Again, doesn’t matter a goddamn iota if _you personally_ are OK with it, or _you personally_ have your shit together enough to have your bags with you every time and never need to buy extra trash bags either, because you craft your own out of hemp or whatever the fuck you do. You know goddamn well that’s not the case with a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/53 "2016-11-27T03:29:35Z")
It’s not a tax, it’s a fee. In the real world, if one’s financial situation is so precarious that less than a buck for some grocery bags is going to wreck it, one had better get unstupid and/or get one’s shit together in a hurry because all the complaining in the world isn’t going to improve one’s lot any. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/54 "2016-11-27T03:31:02Z")
Call the waahmbulance. Waah! Waah! Waah! ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/55 "2016-11-27T03:32:49Z")
> [@Azeotrope](#): > > It’s not a tax, it’s a fee. Refer to [post #43](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19810667&postcount=43). Makes zero difference to the consumer what you call it. Yes, it’s a fee. A regressive fee on the poor. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/56 "2016-11-27T03:33:58Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > Yeah - I mean, an actual poor person chimed in here and he apparently didn’t see her and/or is ignoring her. > > Again, doesn’t matter a goddamn iota if _you personally_ are OK with it, or _you personally_ have your shit together enough to have your bags with you every time and never need to buy extra trash bags either, because you craft your own out of hemp or whatever the fuck you do. You know goddamn well that’s not the case with a lot of people. So I’m sure your argument is based on a statistically valid survey _you’ve_ done of poor people in California? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/57 "2016-11-27T03:34:57Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Call the waahmbulance. Waah! Waah! Waah! Yeah, you’re right, fuck poor people. They don’t matter. Also, thanks for President Trump, because you are the very embodiment of how he got elected. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/58 "2016-11-27T03:36:10Z")
Shut up, you fucking tool. Besides, I voted for Hillary, you dumbshit. ---
**Author:** ![mind\_the\_gap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@mind\_the\_gap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mind_the_gap)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/59 "2016-11-27T03:37:46Z")
I’m with you in one sense op, but my counter is to lug my stinky dirty backpack with me into whatever special snowflake shop or store I’m shopping in. I’ve gotten the “sir, you’ll have to check your backpack” line a few times. “It’s not my backpack, it’s my shopping bag. You do want me to shop here, right?” Just remember, California is the U.S. center for nanny state idiocy. Sonoma county just finished a long delayed repaving of Hwy 12 through “The Springs”,an area habitually short on parking. Their solution was to eliminate all the curbside parking and designate it as bicycle lanes. For the 6 people who use it a day I guess that’s really cool, but for the vast majority it sucks. I guess they think we live in fucking Amsterdam, FFS. Whatever happened to the biodegradable plastic bag idea? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112/60 "2016-11-27T03:38:31Z")
The profit does not go to the supermarkets. The revenue goes to the Wildlife Conservation Fund. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-stupid-fucking-bag-ban-in-california/773112.md?page=4)