Letter to The Editor: It's Time To Bag The Bag Tax

The following is a letter to the editor from Todd Berman, a North Bethesda resident and frequenter of Potomac shops, regarding the new Montgomery County bag tax.

I'm not sure if it's a law or a tax. Well, I do know...it's a law. And a tax.  

Under the guise of saving the Potomac from plastic bags, the Montgomery County C - and 16 days later, I can tell you - it is taxing!  

No longer can one go out to "run errands". A carefully crafted strategy needs to be devised that would allow enough bags to be carried in a car (or bus) and then into and out of a store that one frequents. Case in point, if one goes to the 's at Falls and River - how many bags do I need and what size? Will they be large enough to carry gallons of paint should I see the base coat I needed but never bought? Do I bring them back to the car, unload them and reuse them at Starbucks - or do I use a smaller bag? What about the victuals I need at Safeway? Oh, that chicken breast that leaked into my fabric bag I brought in? Maybe I won't see it and instead will re--use it for my visit to Rite-Aid and my prescription pick-up. Yuck!  

For the county council to think that somehow the bag tax is positive for the "quality of life" in Montgomery County - think again. It's turning us into "bag people". The annoyance of carrying bags everywhere is a hassle. Add it to traffic congestion as another "problem" the council has created and now thinks they can solve.  

The Montgomery County Council can't decide if a "teen curfew" can be instituted or even tried, but get them thinking about a new revenue source and they are all ears and "ayes."  

My take on the new law after 2 weeks - Bag It!

Do you have an opinion about the Montgomery County bag tax? Send in your thoughts as a letter to the editor! Email katie.griffith@patch.com for more information.