The City of Chicago is about to ream you for more cash
If you live inside the city of Chicago, get ready to get gouged...again.
It's not enough that our sales taxes are among the highest in the nation at 10.25%, they always seem to find new and creative ways to get into our pockets for more.
Starting tomorrow, February 1st, you're going to be charged seven cents for each bag you get after shopping at a grocery store and at retail outlets.
The reason for this is so we can recycle our paper and plastics bags, plus get more use out of the ones we already have. We're saving trees and the environment. Blah, blah, yada, yada, yada. Yeah, it's a good soundbite but you and I know it's really all about the Benji's. Cash in Chicago is King!
Last week I put on my reporter's hat (Is there really such a thing? Can I get one in pink?) and hit the streets to do a little research. I started at a dry cleaners to ask if they were charging for that plastic wrap they put on your clothes. Nope! Phew!
Then it was off to McDonald's to see if my Sausage McMuffin without Egg and hash browns to go was going to cost seven cents more. Nope! Phew!
It was on to Walgreens. I get seven or so prescriptions filled each month. I needed to know if that little paper bag they give you was subject to the tax. Nope...but when they ask you if you want a bag for that bag, that's when they get you for the seven cents....and it's not covered by Obamacare.
On to the retail stores. Target, Marshall's, Home Depot and DSW. All of them will be charging for shopping bags.
There is a way around this. Bring a bag with you. Put a few in your car and take them into the store. But what if you don't have a car? That's fairly common in the city. I see plenty of people with groceries and retail store bags on buses and trains. As if that isn't enough of a pain, bringing your own bags adds to that.
It also kills shopping spontaneity. How many times are you walking down a city street, look into a window and see a cool looking pair of shoes or a cute sweater, pop into the store and buy it without any earlier plans of doing that? Add a extra seven cents onto your purchase.
Now if you're thinking, why is he sweating the seven cents, I'm really not. I'm sweating the money all those seven cents is going to add up to. On the low end, let's say you purchase something without bringing a bag once a week and you'll need two bags. Fourteen cents times 52 weeks equals $7.28. While that's not close to life changing money, it will buy you a few Sausage McMuffins or a couple of drinks at Starbucks. Not to mention that I'd rather have the seven bucks in my pocket instead of Rahm's. Wouldn't you? Plus if you forget your bags more than that, those seven cents does start to add up.
So what's the answer to this? Plan ahead! It won't always work. I did go to three groceries stores today...hey, I really like grocery stores. I can and will cut that down to one...hmmm...wonder which store will be my favorite.
I guess I'm going to have to make a decision...shopping bags vs McMuffins. I wonder which one I'll choose. Maybe I'll know tomorrow.
Damn....I can't even blame this one on Trump.
You want to get an email notification every time I write one of these epic posts? Just become a blog subscriber. Head to the right side of this post, fill in your email address, click the link and bingo! I promise there will be no spam, you can quit anytime you like and I'll never charge you for a paper or plastic bag.