Rob Ford's Toronto

[doug]

Wrong again, but anyway, so you're defending people that make fun of people based solely on their looks?

If ford and his chronies can attack people on his little radio show...then it's fair game...didn't you learn anything on the playground?

 

[junctionist]

Can't wait for Ford to get rid of another nussiance fee that Miller put in (the 5 cent bag fee.) So good to see him undoing all the mistakes Miller made.

I know people on here love paying as many user fees, taxes, levies, tolls as possible but the rest of Toronto (the majority of Toronto) will be glad when it's gone.

And it's not a lost revenue stream because the money never came into the city.

It's a tiny fee that does a good job of reducing the use of plastic bags, which aren't good for the environment. Once you buy a cheap reusable bag, you don't have to worry about the fee. It's nice to see fewer bags in trees and creeks in the past few years. David Miller's many progressive initiatives which got international attention made me proud to live in Toronto.

 

[toto]

Wrong again, but anyway, so you're defending people that make fun of people based solely on their looks?

Ford brother's and their radio show 'guests', not only make fun of how people look, but how they think and their status within society. Their blatant disapproval of all points of view, not based in a rich, white man's, early 20th century, conservative ideals, is so obvious, that it's become a joke.

 

[sarnya]

Can't wait for Ford to get rid of another nussiance fee that Miller put in (the 5 cent bag fee.) So good to see him undoing all the mistakes Miller made.

I know people on here love paying as many user fees, taxes, levies, tolls as possible but the rest of Toronto (the majority of Toronto) will be glad when it's gone.

And it's not a lost revenue stream because the money never came into the city.

How is 5 cents a nuisance? I keep some cloth bags and 2 shopping bins in the trunk of my car. I also keep some cloth bags at the front door of my house. I ride my bike a lot and keep one in my backpack. I've made it as convenient as possible for myself.

I buy 5 or 6 plastic bags a year when making unexpected purchases. It's a few cents a year I don't mind paying.

 

[nfitz]

Wrong again

Wrong again. The Globe wrote back at the beginning of the campaign the he talks openly about struggles with his weight. He commented in at least one of the debates that he could loose a few pounds. Heck, he was the one, over a year ago, shortly after the election cracking jokes about his weight - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/02/17/ford-returns.html

but anyway, so you're defending people that make fun of people based solely on their looks?

No, I didn't say that. Besides, there are so many other reasons to make fun of Rob Ford, based on his bizarre beliefs, and pathological lying.

 

[spider]

The 5 cent bag cost is not a big deal but the manner in which it was implemented and the ultimate benefactor is a big deal.

Had the City mandated the presence at the POP of a receptacle into which the money was to be placed instead of the retailer's cash register the shopper would have no trouble with the process whatsoever in the knowledge that the money would be collected and distributed through out the City in a transparent fashion to those in need.

It is, after all, supposed to be a fine exacted for having forgotten to make other arrangements to carry your purchases home not a profit opportunity for the retailer. Retailers don't miss a chance to bleat about their super slim markup margins of about 2 or 3 %, why wouldn't they be all over an opportunity to mark up a plastic bag 1,000%.

Leave the bag tax in place but change the manner in which it is collected and used. See above.

 

[js97]

The 5 cent bag cost is not a big deal but the manner in which it was implemented and the ultimate benefactor is a big deal.

Had the City mandated the presence at the POP of a receptacle into which the money was to be placed instead of the retailer's cash register the shopper would have no trouble with the process whatsoever in the knowledge that the money would be collected and distributed through out the City in a transparent fashion to those in need.

It is, after all, supposed to be a fine exacted for having forgotten to make other arrangements to carry your purchases home not a profit opportunity for the retailer. Retailers don't miss a chance to bleat about their super slim markup margins of about 2 or 3 %, why wouldn't they be all over an opportunity to mark up a plastic bag 1,000%.

Leave the bag tax in place but change the manner in which it is collected and used. See above.

Absolutely agree. Good idea, poorly impelmented.

To the true environmentalists. A reuseable bag may not mean less environmental impact if you consider the amount of input needed to make a reuseable bag (probably a 100-1000% more than a single plastic bag? And how long/many times are the reuseable bags lasting?

The plastic/recycled re-useable bags are probably more environmentally 'unfriendly' as they generally don't last that long.

 

[insertrealname]

I'm not so sure about Toronto in the 19th Century, but the taboos we have here and now about cemeteries are far from universal across the globe and throughout time. In some cultures, it is quite normal to go and visit deceased loved ones, to sit around picnicing with them, &c.

One summer back in the early `80s I was in Munich for a few weeks: one way to the language school I was attending was parallel to one of the downtown cemeteries, and I would occasionally enter the cemetery for a little peace from the traffic noise, and I was always surprised at the presence of young ladies sunbathing topless among the tombstones... they certainly added a certain je-ne-sais-quoi to these peaceable kingdoms.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Can't wait for Ford to get rid of another nussiance fee that Miller put in (the 5 cent bag fee.) So good to see him undoing all the mistakes Miller made.

Discouraging the use of plastic bags is a mistake? Good quality, re-usable fabric bags cost $1 - $2 and last for years! How can saving millions of plastic bags from landfills and encouraging recycling be a mistake?

I know people on here love paying as many user fees, taxes, levies, tolls as possible but the rest of Toronto (the majority of Toronto) will be glad when it's gone.

What tolls do we pay? Aren't there more user fees now under Ford than under Miller? Not raising property taxes is great, until the city can't be efficiently run anymore because everything goes up, but property taxes haven't kept pace to help pay to run the city.

 

[Electrify]

Can't wait for Ford to get rid of another nussiance fee that Miller put in (the 5 cent bag fee.) So good to see him undoing all the mistakes Miller made.

I know people on here love paying as many user fees, taxes, levies, tolls as possible but the rest of Toronto (the majority of Toronto) will be glad when it's gone.

And it's not a lost revenue stream because the money never came into the city.

If you don't like paying for bags, then bring your own.

 

[CDL.TO]

It is, after all, supposed to be a fine exacted for having forgotten to make other arrangements to carry your purchases home not a profit opportunity for the retailer. Retailers don't miss a chance to bleat about their super slim markup margins of about 2 or 3 %, why wouldn't they be all over an opportunity to mark up a plastic bag 1,000%.

Because the profit on a single box of cereal or carton of milk, at "super slim" 2% markup, is still more profitable than your mythological 1000% plastic bag markup.

People are so worked up about an amount of money that is so small that retailers didn't even see it as worth their while to pursue. The power of symbolism.

 

[Hipster Duck]

It is, after all, supposed to be a fine exacted for having forgotten to make other arrangements to carry your purchases home not a profit opportunity for the retailer. Retailers don't miss a chance to bleat about their super slim markup margins of about 2 or 3 %, why wouldn't they be all over an opportunity to mark up a plastic bag 1,000%.

Leave the bag tax in place but change the manner in which it is collected and used. See above.

First of all, it's not a tax. The City doesn't collect a cent from it. The more proper term to use would be "user fee".

Secondly, the amount of money that is actually collected from it is so minimal that it doesn't make sense for the City to dedicate the manpower and resources to collecting it for revenue purposes. It would also be an enormous pain in the ass for retailers to keep tabs of how many bags they've sold. Some stores may sell 10 bags, or less, a day. It doesn't make sense for a merchant to fill out paperwork and for some drone at city hall to be hired to audit what might amount to 50 cents worth of daily claims.

Finally, I think it's only fair that retailers - and not the City - get to keep the revenue from plastic bags. I did a quick check on Ali Baba and a Chinese manufacturer sells 20,000 plastic bags at 5 cents (US) per bag. In other words, the bag fee barely makes up for the cost that merchants have to shell out when they buy plastic bags. This is hardly a "1000% markup" (did you really think it cost 0.5 cents to manufacture and distribute a plastic bag? If that were the case, you could buy 10,000 bags - which would need to be shipped in a truck - for just 50 dollars), and, of course, the choice of paying for a bag should be passed on to the consumer.

 

[W. K. Lis]

It's a tiny fee that does a good job of reducing the use of plastic bags, which aren't good for the environment. Once you buy a cheap reusable bag, you don't have to worry about the fee. It's nice to see fewer bags in trees and creeks in the past few years. David Miller's many progressive initiatives which got international attention made me proud to live in Toronto.

Stores like No Frills or Food Basics charged for plastic bags long before David Miller was even mayor. Guess your memory is not as good as it used to be. Now where's the undo key?

Now most stores in Toronto, along with some stores around Toronto, charge for them.

 

[PinkLucy]

Loblaws and National Grocer stores charge everywhere in the province

 

[spider]

Hipster,

First of all, it's not a tax. The City doesn't collect a cent from it. The more proper term to use would be "user fee".

Whatever, semantics.

Secondly, the amount of money that is actually collected from it is so minimal that it doesn't make sense for the City to dedicate the manpower and resources to collecting it for revenue purposes. It would also be an enormous pain in the ass for retailers to keep tabs of how many bags they've sold. Some stores may sell 10 bags, or less, a day. It doesn't make sense for a merchant to fill out paperwork and for some drone at city hall to be hired to audit what might amount to 50 cents worth of daily claims.

At the end of a day or week the merchant counts the contents of the container, divides by 5 and has the number of bags sold, pretty simple.

Finally, I think it's only fair that retailers - and not the City - get to keep the revenue from plastic bags. I did a quick check on Ali Baba and a Chinese manufacturer sells 20,000 plastic bags at 5 cents (US) per bag.

The same manufacturer offers a larger than usual bag for less than $0.01 each, I'll bet the big stores do MUCH better than that.

in other words, the bag fee barely makes up for the cost that merchants have to shell out when they buy plastic bags. This is hardly a "1000% markup" (did you really think it cost 0.5 cents to manufacture and distribute a plastic bag? If that were the case, you could buy 10,000 bags - which would need to be shipped in a truck - for just 50 dollars), and, of course, the choice of paying for a bag should be passed on to the consumer.

See above.