In the debate over paper or plastic grocery bags, have we forgotten about jobs?
(Specifically, jobs in Washington state?)
In today's News Tribune, columnist Peter Callaghan beautifully illustrates the complicated politics of what seems like a very simple question:
Some outside the center of the universe known as Seattle have likely chalked it up to those wacky lefties. But I wonder if the folks on Elliot Bay realize that in adopting a 20-cent fee on paper and plastic bags they are taking an economic shot at rural Washington, where lots of people get paid for growing trees and making paper.
The benefit of those jobs ripples through the economies in the Olympic Peninsula, in southwest Washington and parts of Eastern Washington. But those jobs are in decline, and many who live there feel under assault, not just from economic changes but from political ones.
The new ban in Seattle will take effect in January. Shoppers at grocery, drug and convenience stores will pay 20 cents for each "disposable" bag, whether it's paper or plastic.
