No One Asked Me (Again)

I keep forgetting to blog this. It's no longer new or news, but it's still disturbing. Well, the logic, or lack thereof, is disturbing. The City of Chicago this year instituted a tax on bottled water. Hmmm...if it weren't punishment enough to pay for something that comes out of the faucet. 

Of course, it's a greenwashing strategy. It is not described as a tax on water, but a tax on plastic. They claim that the disposable bottles are a big problem and that taxing them will help the environment. Sure. Lots of plastic out there, but only water being taxed? So far.

If the goal is truly a strategy to keep these bottles out of the landfills, make it a deposit. Many states use deposits on cans and bottles to encourage recycling. If you think about it, a tax is paid every time you buy a bottle of water. If you are careful, you pay a deposit only once.