Every day when I open up my newspaper I get more and more frustrated with living in the “great” state of California. Every time I blink, they are coming up with new ways of reaching their greedy little hands into our pockets. It hurts. It hurts a lot.
Just the other day, I had a hot cup of coffee, and I sat down to read the newspaper. There is nothing better than that right? I nearly spit out my coffee, though, as I found an article that I am certain sent my blood pressure through the roof.
California is trying to pass another hidden tax. They are sneaky. They make it sound so good, but this proposal is the devil in disguise. California representatives say it is the state’s “recycling program”. All of those bottles and cans we pay deposits on in the stores at checkout? In 2009 alone, the state has taken $100 million from this program and used it toward our budget problems (money problems that they created by overspending).
My family does our part to recycle – we are actually very good about it. Aluminum soda cans are easy enough to recycle and return in hopes of getting some of the deposit money back. The plastic containers baffle me quite a bit. I don’t take them back in for cash, but they do go in our recycling bin. Our recycling program is not very user friendly. It is so hard to even find a place to return the recyclables and we pay deposits at the store, yet when we want to return our bottles and cans to get our deposits back, it is based on weight. Ummm hello? You charged me a per piece deposit at the store. How is this fair? I want a per piece price back! This sounds reasonable doesn’t it?
If that isn’t enough to make the blood boil, California’s representatives have something else up their grimy sleeves. They have proposed expanding the container deposit to small foil juice pouches (you know – Capri Sun?), juice boxes, juice jugs bigger and 46-ounces, half gallon cartons (not milk), and drink containers made from other grains. Want more? They also want to double the deposit on 20-ounce containers from a nickel to a dime!
I am just livid. All of this extra money is not to help mother earth. It is merely to line the pockets of our cash strapped state, all the while hurting Californians who are already struggling to make ends meet.
Grocery bills are high enough without adding extra recycling deposit amounts, and adding more containers to the lineup. The “great” state of California should stop looking to the hardworking families to recoup the money they have spent so wastefully. Enough already!
Nice way to kick us while we are down, California!
Have I mentioned that when we retire we are going to run like hell out of this state?
