Government Excess
5 pence for a plastic grocery bag? Britain's plan to save the planet! I am the classic 'grumpy old man'. When I'm here in the UK I shop at any of the grocery chains, and, I try to remember to take my own bag with me. If I should forget, or heaven forfend, put more groceries in my cart than I have bags for, I really don't see why I should start paying an additional 5 pence for the 'convenience' of taking my purchases home in one of the greater inventions of the consumer society. The lightweight, flexible and durable plastic bag, valued a probably a fraction of a penny and which the retailer (today) is happy to give to me for free. So, is this truly the final, earth shaking affront to my personal liberty; the straw that breaks the camel's back? Almost certainly not, but definitely yet another straw none the less. More importantly, it's a symptom of modern British government in general and our current 'coalition of incompatibles' i