Really Pissed!

DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS: Began in 1986



http://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/index.php



I used to hear this campaign all over the place, television, radio, bumper stickers. While the website is still around and a few events are announced or reported by media outlets. I am thoroughly disgusted by all the TRASH on Texas roads. I have written to Senators Cronyn and Hutchinson about the benefits of 'taxing' plastic shopping bags to raise revenue for child health care programs. Oh it is okay to tax smokers and drinkers but, to take on another blight of this magnitude would take some serious committment.



I have so far received no replies or even courtesy acknowledgement letters from either "HIGHLY environmental friendly politicians." SHOPPING BAGS are made from petroleum and while both say they want to lower TEXAS dependance on foreign oil; they ignore 'oil spills (bags)' littering the roads.



Think about the revenues from a .30 per bag tax. A simple bar code printed on the bag under a store logo would allow cashiers to ring up the SALES TAX. I am sure in less than a year EVERY financially savvy TEXAN would be very aware and motivated to bring in recycled, reusable bags instead of the 'throw out the window' bags littering the roads, parking lots, parks, rivers, lakes, pastures and landfills.



In the 2 months my family and I have used these bags, I would care to wager our TEXAS ROAD TAX would have been approximately:



.30 per 6 shopping bags at $1.80 per reusable bag used



multiplied by 12 reusable bags a week = 21.60



for two months would have raised for TEXAS = $172.80



Senators Cronyn & Hutchinson, that is $1,036.80 per four member household multipled by households all across TEXAS. So, I will let YA'LL do the math.



Thoughts from inside the coop........