Please Repeal Plastic Bags Ban in Austin

Beginning March 1^st the law of banning the single use plastic bag went into effect in Austin city limit and since then it made a measurable impact on our daily lives. I can’t see any logical point to this law and I completely disagree to it. As in my last blog, I commented against plastic bags ban and in this blog I want to make more points to justify my position against this ridiculous law.

Most of the proponents of plastic bags ban make a lot of statements against plastic bags which are not always true. Plastic bags are more environment friendly than one would think. Plastic bags require 70% less energy to manufacture than paper bags and produce half the amount of greenhouse gas emission in the process. One of the unsubstantiated statements of the proponents is “plastic is killing our oceans”. But there is no evidence to the statement. Also, banning plastic bags can not reduce the amount of plastic waste. A study conducted in 2008 found that that there was a slight increase of plastic waste after plastic bags were banned in 2007 in San Francisco. The city’s data showed that plastic bags amounted to just 0.64% of all lager waste and only 0.5% of all solid waste.

Also proponents say that in order to make plastic bags we are wasting our oil, making us more dependent on foreign oil. But the truth is plastic bags are the byproducts of NATURAL GAS, not OIL! So there is no connection that by banning plastic bags we would be less dependent on foreign oil.

Another argument against plastic bags is that “plastic bags are single use”. But 92% people say that they reuse plastic bags around the house for things like lining waste basket, keeping storage, toting dirty clothes or picking up after pets. If “single use” is the criteria to ban things, then why not ban all paper towels, diapers, toilet paper, and disposable plates and cups that cannot be recycled and take years to dispose?

In addition, reusable bags are unsanitary and can spread germs since most people do not wash the reusable bags. After San Francisco banned plastic bags in 2007, they found illnesses of food related bacteria increased substantially. A study by Jonathan Klick and Joshua Wright showed that food-borne illnesses in San Francisco increased 46% leading to 5.4 annual additional deaths after bag ban was put into effect. In this scenario, supporters suggest that we should wash reusable bags more often, but they forget the fact that washing reusable bags also undermines the environment. Washing reusable bags requires electricity and water, and it also emits polluted water to the environment.

Overall, banning plastic bags in Austin is a ridiculous idea. In my opinion, rather than banning plastic bags Austin City Council should put more efforts in recycling plastic bags. In Texas, there is no real effort or investment in recycling plastic bags despite the fact that it takes less energy to recycle plastic bags. Study shows that it takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it does to recycle a pound of paper. Thus, the plastic bags ban in Austin should be repealed.

Comments on "Just Like A Texan" Blog

I agree with Helen’s point in "Just Like A Texan" blog that plastic bag ban in Austin is a ridiculous law from the Austin City Council. I am a supporter of green environment but I do not see any point how banning plastic bag only in Austin will save the environment when it is not banned outside Austin city limit such as in Cedar Park, Round Rock. As a result, it does not serve the intended purpose when People living in Austin can shop just outside the city limit with plastic bags. Besides, Helen mentioned that reusable bags are unsanitary and can spread germs because people do not often wash the reusable bags. There have been some studies that support this point. For example, after San Francisco passed America's “first-in-the-nation ban” on plastic bags in chain grocery stores and drugstores in 2007, a research by law professors Jonathan Klick and Joshua Wright of Wharton School Institute for Law and Economics found out that food-borne illnesses in San Francisco increased 46 percent leading to 5.4 annual additional deaths after the bag ban went into effect in 2007. The proponents of bag ban argue that plastic bags are not reusable but there is little truth to that. We reuse the plastics bags in our daily lives such as carrying stuffs, trash can liner in the bathrooms etc. Thus, the plastic bag ban in Austin should be repealed.

Texas SHOULD approve Medicaid Expansion

Medicaid expansion has been a hot topic since Texas said “NO” to Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion is nation’s health insurance program for law-income individuals and families under the Affordable Care Act which is set to begin in 2014. Under the original law, all U.S. citizens under 65 with family income up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($30,675 for a family of four in 2012) will qualify for Medicaid under the expansion. The Medicaid expansion is a joint state-federal government health insurance program in which federal government would pay 90 percent and a state would be required to pay 10 percent. But the Supreme Court upheld the Afforable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion in June 2012. Later the Supreme Court ruled that the Afforable Care Act allowed states to opt out of the Medicaid expansion part of the law, leaving each state’s the choice to participate or not to participate. Fourteen states including Texas announced their rejection to the Medicaid expansion. In Texas the opponents of the Medicaid expansion say that Texas can’t afford Medicaid expansion. They also point out that without the expansion, Medicaid is growing rapidly in Texas and the cost of Medicaid is already out of control.

In my opinion, Medicaid expansion is a good deal for two reasons:

1.      It will bolster economy in Texas

2.      It will reduce uninsured rate in Texas

Since the federal government will pay 90 percent of the cost, states would pay only 10 percent which is not a big expense for a state. Spending money through Medicaid expansion is kind of an economic stimulus in which government money will flow directly to local economy, supporting wages, employment, and consumer spending. Besides, having health insurance coverage enables people to lead healthier lives which in turn makes them more capable of paying their taxes, mortgages, student loans and other living expenses and hence will be good for economy. In addition, Medicaid expansion will add lots of jobs and reduce the cost of insurance premiums. For example, a study by university of Florida commissioned by the hospital association found that expanding Medicaid or finding alternatives that still bring in those federal dollars would create 49,949 jobs in the health-care industry alone in Florida.  Most importantly, expanding Medicaid will provide financial relief to the hospitals that care for uninsured people. Without the Medicaid expansion, hospitals will continue to have high uncompensated care costs, and they will not receive the federal dollars that could have offset these costs.

            In Texas, more than 6 million people including 1.2 million children are uninsured.  25 percent of Texas residents lack health insurance, compared with a national average of 17 percent. The main factors that contribute the Texas’ high number of uninsured are many Texas jobs without any health benefit and the presence of large immigrant population. May be, you and I are fortunate enough to have health insurance, but think about those 6 million Texan who can’t afford any health insurance and how uncertain their lives are. Medicaid expansion is a moral and fiscal imperative.

 Furthermore, opting out of the Medicaid expansion does not save the Texas tax payers’ money. Why is Texas rejecting the Medicaid expansion when Texans are paying for it anyway?

 Medicaid expansion will not only help Texas economy but also reduce number of uninsured Texans. Thus, it is the right thing to do.