The government is planning to tax plastic bags in an effort to reduce their use.
I am now awaiting the cries of "nanny state!" and Libertarians screaming that the government will take their plastic bags from their cold, dead hands. But strangely, all I hear is deafening silence. Is it only "nannying" if the left does it?
(And for the record, I think National's plan is a good one. Plastic bags impose significant disposal costs on society. Those costs should be met by their end users: shoppers. The decision to target only supermarkets seems odd, but they are the key users, and the aim here is clearly to make sure shoppers clearly see the cost, rather than having it absorbed into other prices (which is what would happen if they applied it at the level of plastic bag producers/importers)).
