Left Holding the Bag

The San Francisco Commission on the Environment wants a tax on sacks: Consumers would have to pay 17 cents for every shopping bag they take home. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "The commission wants the fee initially to apply only to customers at larger grocery stores. But it wants an option to later extend it to smaller markets, drugstores, department stores, hardware stores, dry cleaners, food takeout, newspapers and other bag distributors."

Mindful of the possible effect on low-income shoppers, the commission also wants to subsidise bags for the poor. Under the current system, you may recall, the poor are already getting the bags for free.