A few of todays headlines: Soda Tax Weighed to Pay for Health Care and Senate Studies Soda Tax points out a few ways of paying for our new healthcare. I think they should take it a few steps further.
Go to a garbage dump and take a look around. I propose they tax what is filling up our landfills.. bottled water containers for starters. Bottled water should be taxed like cigarettes until they too cost $10. And sure, tax all soda both regular and diet. They are equally bad. And with as much garbage that is produced by one visit to a fast food restaurant, there should be a heavy tax on that as well. McDonalds, Wendy's and Burger King to name a few can easily put in a dishwasher and provide dishes for people eating at the restaurant.
The whole packaging industry needs to be addressed. Vitamin containers are only 1/2 filled, why are they so big? If something as delicate as a potato chip can be packaged in a thin bag, why is cereal packaged in boxes? Walk into any Toys R Us and the packaging of toys is just a sin. The package of any item should not outweigh or take up more volume than the content. Nothing needs to be 'double packaged'. Like a jar that is in a box, or a bag that is in a box (cereal), or a doll in plastic surrounded by cardboard. Many 'individual portions' should be done away with, they just create more garbage.
Chicago passed a Bottled Water Tax (more for eco reasons) and lists their sins:
The seven sins of bottled water are these:
1. Plastic bottles are made from petroleum.
2. The bottles often go into the trash, rather than the recycle bin (in part because many states don't offer five-cent deposits to encourage recycling, as they do on soda and beer cans and bottles).
3. The water is pumped far from where it is sold, creating needless pollution as trucks and barges transport it across the country or around the world.
4. Some local communities have objected to the sale of their water, arguing that the water underground or flowing from natural springs is publicly owned and should not be exploited for profit.
5. Bottled water is rarely as closely monitored as tap water.
6. Tap water in the United States, when provided by a municipal system, is the most highly monitored and safe supply in the world.
7. Some of the water sold in little plastic bottles is tap water, but it costs an awful lot more per gallon.
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- bluTaurus
- New York, NY, United States
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3 comments:
Hi James,
I totally agree with you about pollution and the waste of many things.
But dishes in McDonalds? That is not going to happen i think.
All commerce.
Now there was this study a while ago from the Stanford University in your country where they ask little children which food they like better ; food packed in a anonymous packing, and food packed in mcdonalds packages.
The children all agreed that the food wraped in a mcdonalds package or paper tasted better. Even carrots, apple-juice or milk. Sad but true.
Here some time ago in cafes or restaurants, they sold springwater.
They come in little glass bottles. They served it with the cap removed, so-called service.
That give them the chance to filled it up with plain tap water. Crazy.
But here we have plastic recycle-bins or containers (http://www.plasticheroes.nl) in front of all big supermarkets, they are right next to paper, clothes, batteries, milk/juice-cartons and glass-containers. So handy when you do shopping.
I hope you don't mind if i show you two other links www.blikenco.com and www.plakkies.com
about recycle and help getting better enviroments and so. Plakkies are slippers made
out of old tires. The slippers are mostly made by women infected with the HIV virus.
Its a initiative from a bank and a university here (Netherlands).
The other one is about bags made out of tabs of cans. I like these initiatives.
Maybe its a good idea to put tax on things for health care, if it works i don't know.
But i sure hope the new president will bring a better health care system for everyone.
Greetings, Gina Cohen
I agree, McDonalds will never serve on plates,, and here in New York City, even when you tell them you are eating "in", they put in in a bag and charge you 50 cents "take out", adding even more to the garbage pile.
If you have ever been to europe, even the smallest convenince store serves food on plates.. they don't even give you a napkin,, you have to ask and at the end of your meal and drink, the only thing to throw away is a paper napkin. If they can do it, we can do it. McDonalds is just lazy and it costs less to paper and styrophome things up then to wash dishes.
I agree we have made headway in recycling,, but recycling is more expensive than throwing it away. Much of the recycling here in NYCD was stopped because our mayor said it was too expensive.....
and in the case of plastic containers,, why should we recycle anything? why not produce it "right" in the first place? even milk used to come in glass containers and then they would refill again with milk.
thank you for the weblinks.
Health care is high enough... that's not a good idea.. Health care is also a human right. Drinking bottled water and soda is a luxury.
thank you Gina,,,
James
Hi James,
I meant putting tax on soda and other bad things and use
that money for health care.
But the money you get by doing that is far not enough.
There are so many people overthere that needs to be insured.
Here everyone is required to have at least a basic health insurance.
And the insurance companies can't refuse anyone who is applying for it.
If you want a comprehensive package or a dentist-insurance, you pay more.
Children up to 18 years are free insured.
And if you have social security or no income at all the
governement will help financial.
But it cost a lot of money. And this system works in this small country,
but how you're gonna get it right in such a big country with so many people?
I agree, drinking soda and buying bottled water ís a luxury.
We never drink soda and the only reason i save some water (in cartons)
is because that if the water services is shut off for a few hours i will still be able to make some coffee or tea.
But commercials have such an influance on children (and adults).
And they don't want to feel stupid in front of their friends (when they bring them in
and there isn't any soda).
It requires a change in thinking and doing.
It's good to stop serving soda in schools for instance.
I don't know which is worse; the sugar in soda or the sweeteners.
Try to drink a diet coke sometime, the only thing you get from it is more thirst (!).
But these all are difficult issues. Milk-bottles seems to be better (and nicer) but they are bigger and
weigh more so, more or heavier transport. And they need to be washed all the time, so you need
more water. And then there is this study that say's 'in the long run glass is better' and then there is
this other studie that say's 'no, plastic is better because the lifetime is longer, it can't break'. See what i mean?
But i don't know if recycling is more expensive all the time. Sure, it's better to produce it 'right' in the first place or use already existing materials.
But there will still be things left over that need to be recycled. And the benfits of that will show in the long run i think, and
by that time the major is already retired. Get my point?
A person who drinks 8 soda's a day can try drink 4 instead. Try vinegar and bakingsoda instead of chemical cleaningproducts.
Buy secondhand things or exchange and recycle used things. Refill your own plastic bottle with tapwater etc.
We all can contribute our own little bit, in our own way. It's a big cliche but a cliche that needs to become practice i think.
Greetings, Gina
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