Letter: Plastic bag ban is bizarre

EDITOR,
I just read about the Santa Cruz County supervisors’ decision to ban plastic bags (“Locals prepare for plastic bag ban,” Page 20, Nov. 11). I recently moved here from New Jersey, another expensive state. However, New Jersey is not on the edge of bankruptcy as California is, and now I know why. If the supervisors want to vote to remove plastic bags, which are recyclable, they should provide an alternative at no cost to the consumer.
It is absolutely disgraceful that they ban these bags, yet provide no free alternative. In a state where unemployment is higher than the national average and people who do find employment need at least two jobs to survive, they have the audacity to charge for bags. I just spent $600 at Safeway to feed my family (grant you, that’s every 4 to 6 weeks), supporting this store and all the others in the San Lorenzo Valley, and now I will have to pay for bags — shameful.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know why the state is in the shape it is; nobody fights for anything, they just let government do what they want. In my opinion, California is too liberal.
Shame on all of you who vote these bizarre laws in, especially during these tough economic times. Why don’t you focus on laws that save your communities money, instead of this. Vote for laws that give back to consumers, so they can spend the money in their communities. I recently read that California is the No. 2 state in the union that people move out of, and now I know why. Plastic bags are not hurting our environment, and they can be recycled. Maybe it begins with the fundamentals, the foundation of any community — education, education, education!
Kim Bukowski, Boulder Creek