English: A man demonstrating usage of a suicide bag. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A funny thing happened on the way out of the store - a lot of stuff, it turns out, is missing from inventory and absent any corresponding payment; a phenomenon that's been growing by leaps and bounds in those "green" Meccas that have banned plastic bags. Of course, banners claim that correlation doesn't equal causation, but that's easy to claim when it's not your wallet that's involved. Store owners beg to differ:
But the bag ban is contributing to thousands of dollars in losses for at least one Seattle grocery store, and questions have been raised about the risk of food-borne illness from reusable bags that shoppers don't often wash.
Mike Duke, who operates the Lake City Grocery Outlet with his wife, said that since the plastic-bag ban started last July, he's lost at least $5,000 in produce and between $3,000 and $4,000 in frozen food.
According to data released in January by Seattle Public Utilities, 21.1 percent of business owners surveyed said increased shoplifting because of the plastic bag ban was a problem.
Well, we all must bear our burdens if we're to Save The Planet, which banning plastic bags will surely accomplish. The good of the many outweighs the good of the few, and all that.
Here in Oregon, at least two cities are Saving The Planet by banning plastic bags; doubtless, you've noticed the difference.
