5 ms·

Taxing bad behavior often comes off as regressive, as are laws that would "require reuse". But the measures do work. If there are ways to encourage the good beh

Taxing bad behavior often comes off as regressive, as are laws that would "require reuse". But the measures do work. If there are ways to encourage the good behavior without imposing financially-punitive burdens (which adversely affect the ones who value each cent more), they should be pursued instead.

munk-a 8y ago
The city I grew up in offered all residents a free recycling bin when those were just coming into vogue. I don't see why there can't be financial assistance for supplying these free or at a discount. I don't believe this has to be a regressive burden if approached correctly.
- ohithereyou 8y ago
  Especially if it is implemented as a bottle deposit program. In brief, there is an extra amount paid per bottle in the package with a portion of that returned when the bottles are returned.
  - bobthepanda 8y ago
    Bottle deposits can have negative effects, though; anecdotally, where I used to live, some people would rip up existing trash bags or recycling dumpsters and pore through the contents to get bottles to recycle. Which technically increases recycling but can result in the ruin of public and private property.
    - UncleEntity 8y ago
      They do that all over the place, on trash day people scour neighborhoods looking for "the good stuff" before the city trash truck gets to the recycling bins. "Big trash day" is the best as people go around tearing up sofa-beds and whatnot going after any scraps of metal. Not that I really mind, I just put my recyclables next to the apartment dumpster and they get picked up real quick.
      - munk-a 8y ago
        I don't really mind either, as long as it isn't making life difficult for other people. Most of the people pulling cans and bottles out of the trash near me push the bins back into their holding case and close the door when they're done. This happens in front of police officers and I think it's not terrible for anyone. I've only ever seen trouble when some officers intervened when someone dumped the bin out on the side walk to sort through then absent mindedly walked away. It'd be really nice for us as a society to put together some more productive employment opportunities for people down on their luck, and I am always happy to see (and tip well as a result) a cafe near me that has someone in rough luck put out the chairs every morning and carry heavy things. It's expensive as an employer to do that, their reliability tends to be lower than someone with a stable housing situation, but it is worth the cost in the long run - so long as we don't foist the entire cost burden onto small business owners.
- kodablah 8y ago
  Sure. But that's different than "require reuse" (implying penalties if not) and "tax paid on X". Your city was wise to encourage recycling, but others telling people to just eat cake after they impose penalties/taxes are not the ones really negatively affected by the taxes anyways.
thenanyu 8y ago
refund all the tax collected

munk-a 8y ago

The city I grew up in offered all residents a free recycling bin when those were just coming into vogue. I don't see why there can't be financial assistance for supplying these free or at a discount. I don't believe this has to be a regressive burden if approached correctly.

ohithereyou 8y ago
Especially if it is implemented as a bottle deposit program. In brief, there is an extra amount paid per bottle in the package with a portion of that returned when the bottles are returned.
- bobthepanda 8y ago
  Bottle deposits can have negative effects, though; anecdotally, where I used to live, some people would rip up existing trash bags or recycling dumpsters and pore through the contents to get bottles to recycle. Which technically increases recycling but can result in the ruin of public and private property.
  - UncleEntity 8y ago
    They do that all over the place, on trash day people scour neighborhoods looking for "the good stuff" before the city trash truck gets to the recycling bins. "Big trash day" is the best as people go around tearing up sofa-beds and whatnot going after any scraps of metal. Not that I really mind, I just put my recyclables next to the apartment dumpster and they get picked up real quick.
    - munk-a 8y ago
      I don't really mind either, as long as it isn't making life difficult for other people. Most of the people pulling cans and bottles out of the trash near me push the bins back into their holding case and close the door when they're done. This happens in front of police officers and I think it's not terrible for anyone. I've only ever seen trouble when some officers intervened when someone dumped the bin out on the side walk to sort through then absent mindedly walked away. It'd be really nice for us as a society to put together some more productive employment opportunities for people down on their luck, and I am always happy to see (and tip well as a result) a cafe near me that has someone in rough luck put out the chairs every morning and carry heavy things. It's expensive as an employer to do that, their reliability tends to be lower than someone with a stable housing situation, but it is worth the cost in the long run - so long as we don't foist the entire cost burden onto small business owners.
kodablah 8y ago
Sure. But that's different than "require reuse" (implying penalties if not) and "tax paid on X". Your city was wise to encourage recycling, but others telling people to just eat cake after they impose penalties/taxes are not the ones really negatively affected by the taxes anyways.

thenanyu 8y ago

refund all the tax collected