So How Would You Spend $1,431,259?
Over the next 18 days the American Chemistry Council will finish spending all of it's $1,431,259 against Referendum 1. Referendum 1 is a measure to charge a 20 cent fee for throwaway bags at large stores in Seattle in an attempt to reduce waste and pollution.
According to the American Chemical Industry, Referendum 1 is the Seattle government's attempt to steal people's money by forcing them to pay an outrageous 20 cents for a bag if they forget to bring a reusable bag when they go to the store.
Let's just ignore the fact that the plastic bag industry makes an incredible estimated $4 billion each year in the United states from selling those "free" plastic bags you get at the grocery store. Who do you think pays that $4 billion? Could it be out of the pockets of consumers like you and me if we use plastic bags instead of bringing our own reusable bags?
So spending $1,431,259 is a small cost to them to try to preserve their profit making business.
Here's some of what the Campaign Against Referendum 1 has reported they are spending money on:
63,970 phone id calls... $51,035
2 ads in Seattle Times ... $43,154
Seattle Times.com ... $25,000
PI.com... $40,000
produce 60 radio spots... $9,351.46
run ads on KCMS-FM, KING-FM, KIRO-AM. KJR-FM. KPTH-AM, KRWM-FM, KTTH-FM, KVI-AM, KWJZ-FM, KOMO-AM, KMPS-FM, KZOK-FM, ... $247,055
3 tracking polls... $64,000
website design ... $8,935
conduct 1000 interviews, CHAID and cluster analysis ... $35,000
build voter file... $24,800
mailers to 105,000 voters-production... $41,881
4,700 voter registration letters... $11,156
22,140 Recruitment Mailers Production ... $17,830
Consulting - Pacific Issue Mgt... $20,000
Develop blogging campaign... $5,000
GC Strategic Advocacy Retainer ... $80,000
105,000 Mailers - Production... $51,375
Postage 105,000 mailers... $51,375
Email program -list match ... $4,998
graphic design and programming ... $12,900
graphic layout ... $5,400
copyrighting services ... $5,882
Blog strategist ... $882
Travel/office expense... $9,886
copyrighting services... $5,882
postage for recruitment mailers... $6,810
postage for mailers ... $27,795
e-mail program 3 rounds of e-mail blasts... $8,250
e-mail Program - Copy and design... $5,300
There's more but I think you get the idea.
So are you convinced yet? I think our local Seattle economy could use a little bit more economic stimulation before we should call uncle and give in to their oil profit motivated propaganda.
Vote Yes on August 18, 2009 on Referendum 1 and keep some of that $4 billion in spare change in your own pocket that they take from US consumers each year by pushing throwaway plastic bags .
According to the American Chemical Industry, Referendum 1 is the Seattle government's attempt to steal people's money by forcing them to pay an outrageous 20 cents for a bag if they forget to bring a reusable bag when they go to the store.
Let's just ignore the fact that the plastic bag industry makes an incredible estimated $4 billion each year in the United states from selling those "free" plastic bags you get at the grocery store. Who do you think pays that $4 billion? Could it be out of the pockets of consumers like you and me if we use plastic bags instead of bringing our own reusable bags?
So spending $1,431,259 is a small cost to them to try to preserve their profit making business.
Here's some of what the Campaign Against Referendum 1 has reported they are spending money on:
63,970 phone id calls... $51,035
2 ads in Seattle Times ... $43,154
Seattle Times.com ... $25,000
PI.com... $40,000
produce 60 radio spots... $9,351.46
run ads on KCMS-FM, KING-FM, KIRO-AM. KJR-FM. KPTH-AM, KRWM-FM, KTTH-FM, KVI-AM, KWJZ-FM, KOMO-AM, KMPS-FM, KZOK-FM, ... $247,055
3 tracking polls... $64,000
website design ... $8,935
conduct 1000 interviews, CHAID and cluster analysis ... $35,000
build voter file... $24,800
mailers to 105,000 voters-production... $41,881
4,700 voter registration letters... $11,156
22,140 Recruitment Mailers Production ... $17,830
Consulting - Pacific Issue Mgt... $20,000
Develop blogging campaign... $5,000
GC Strategic Advocacy Retainer ... $80,000
105,000 Mailers - Production... $51,375
Postage 105,000 mailers... $51,375
Email program -list match ... $4,998
graphic design and programming ... $12,900
graphic layout ... $5,400
copyrighting services ... $5,882
Blog strategist ... $882
Travel/office expense... $9,886
copyrighting services... $5,882
postage for recruitment mailers... $6,810
postage for mailers ... $27,795
e-mail program 3 rounds of e-mail blasts... $8,250
e-mail Program - Copy and design... $5,300
There's more but I think you get the idea.
So are you convinced yet? I think our local Seattle economy could use a little bit more economic stimulation before we should call uncle and give in to their oil profit motivated propaganda.
Vote Yes on August 18, 2009 on Referendum 1 and keep some of that $4 billion in spare change in your own pocket that they take from US consumers each year by pushing throwaway plastic bags .
Go to the Seattle Green Bag Campaign website to get more information about the citizens campaign to pass Referendum 1. They ask that you "Send a Message to Big Oil: Hands off Seattle. Vote Yes on Referendum 1.
Labels: Green Bag Campaign, plastic bags, Referendum 1, Reusable Bags
Posted by Steve Zemke at 11:11 PM | Permanent Link
2 Comments:
Steve,
Reusablebags.com does not provide any references for the many absurd "Facts" they throw around while trying to get their own corporate interests furthered. Maybe I could interest you in a good wikipedia page that would prove ANY fact you want to exist :)
So you say they "make" $4B a year or whatever on bags; I guess you mean gross wholesale prices in a very competitive market, so what do you think their profit is (a very small fraction)? What I know is that I can buy 1000 thin plastic grocery bags at online retail for about 3 cents each. With la-di-da logo for your favorite upscale granola/tofu market, maybe they cost more, thus the discount they offer now.
So, yeah, we're all paying for it, just as we all pay for the freezer with ice-cream in it or the air conditioning in any retail shop; providing things not-everyone wants is part of their cost of business, and if it means more sales and profit for the stores, they'll do it. (I like the heat, why should I pay for that freezing cold store?)
The plastic makers have a business that I try to avoid patronizing, especially their non-reusable products, but you can see why they owe it to their stockholders (maybe you?) to keep a million other towns across the world from saying "Look! Seattle did it -- it MUST be green!"
- tim
PS I have never been contacted by or otherwise affiliated or associated with anyone remotely related to these corporations or campaigners. Except for the pro + con campaign stuff I've gotten in the last week. Funny how my pro-fee info was hand-delivered in a plastic bag!
The point I am trying to make is that the $4 billion dollar figure is what they charge the grocery stores and that it is the consumers who pay this $4 billion.
The bags are not free as the plastic bag industry would like you to believe or as many people seem to think.
That is just one cost of throwaway bags. There is also the cost of garbage pickup and disposal, litter pick and disposal and the environmental costs to wildlife and the toxic costs to us and other organisms because of what happens to plastic in the environment and how it attracts toxic chemicals that get ingested by zooplankton and works its way up the food chain.
Just because someone can make something like throwaway plastic bags and sell it does not mean that it is the smartest thing to do. Reusable bags make sense in a lot of ways including economically and environmentally and from a public health sense.
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