As if taxing our gas by the mile isn’t enough, we have politicians around the country, including Texas and Washington DC, who came up with what they think is a brilliant solution to increase revenue by taxing plastic bags at the grocery store. It’s not enough that food prices are rising and will continue to do so as the very same politicians who came up with this asinine idea allow our Federal Reserve to destroy our buying power by printing unlimited amounts of money.

The District’s user fee on plastic and paper bags at stores that sell food and/or alcohol went into effect New Year’s Day and is one of the toughest such measures in the country.

Lawmakers hope the tax will make the nation’s capital more green-friendly and help the environment, with proceeds going to fund the cleanup of the Anacostia River. They estimate it will produce about $3.6 million in revenue in the first year, an amount that might decline as awareness grows and people get used to bringing reusable bags when they go shopping.

“It’s controversial because it goes to asking people to think about whether they need disposable bags or not when they go to the store. Before, you never had to think about that,” said D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), who sponsored the bill.

Guess what, whether you use plastic or green-friendly, you are being taxed on the bag. With plastic bags, it’s a direct tax that charges per bag. With green-friendly, you have to pay $1 – $2 for the bag and pay a sales tax on that purchase, so either way, they get their money. I suppose it is just a one-time payment when you go green, so it might make more financial sense — but personally, I don’t think I would like having to drag 10 bags into the grocery store with me on my weekly trip.

Personally, I like plastic bags. I re-use the bags after we empty our groceries, and the cost of those bags was covered by the private business that provided them.

When governments have budget shortfalls, they will tax everything, even if it is FREE to the consumer.

Again, I know that my solution sounds a little looney, but why not control the budget by reducing spending first and then looking at taxes. Instead, our benevolent leaders take the exact opposite approach. Tax everything to cover the money they’ve blown on worthless, bloated projects, and if they have anything left over, spend on even more bloated projects.Then, find something else to tax.

Makes total sense.

Perhaps I will stop using bags altogether. Just put my goods back in the cart, I’ll load them in the van and walk them in one by one. Yes, it might be a pain in the butt, but 1) I get some exercise and 2) it’s my way of silently protesting the predatory actions of our local, state and federal governments.