SPECTRUM: The wisdom of a 9-year-old

Life could soon be changing for the thousands of people who shop in Wasilla every day – the plastic grocery bags used by an overwhelming majority of them could be banned. One person was recently heard commenting, “They want to ban them? I heard about that, but I thought it was so stupid that they would never do it.” On Jan. 8, if a majority of Wasilla City Council members agree that plastic bags should be banned, they will be, regardless of how “stupid” a ban might seem to be.

It is important to understand the impetus of this ban. At the Mat-Su Borough Assembly meeting in June, the night the sales tax “for education” was introduced, most in the building probably didn’t notice the small group of people who were there for another reason - to tax plastic grocery bags. Assembly Member Doty, with the help of the Mat-Su Zero Waste Coalition (MSZWC) proposed an excise tax on plastic grocery bags. Interestingly enough, unlike the sales tax that would require approval by voters, an excise tax only requires the approval of the Assembly.

Some on the Assembly, having just received a public tongue lashing about taxes, decided that the best way to get rid of plastic grocery bags (without having to make a courageous and controversial decision) would be to get cities to ban them. Mayor Cottle, a former resident of Valdez, where plastic bags are banned, was eager to oblige.

To justify this bag ban, the members of MSZWC and Mayor Cottle have stated many times that the people of Wasilla want to ban plastic grocery bags. They tout an online survey as proof, using the statistic that 65 percent of the people surveyed requested a bag ban, but there is nothing scientific about the survey or its results. It was created by the Zero Waste coalition and circulated among groups that would be sympathetic to their cause. Additionally, there was no limit to the number of times the same person could take the survey.

For real evidence of who likes plastic grocery bags, all one has to do is watch the doors of businesses in Wasilla. About 95 percent of those who shop in Wasilla walk out of the doors with plastic grocery bags. If a majority of the people in Wasilla actually think that plastic bags are hazardous and want them banned, they would not be using them.

Is it the role of government to change the behavior of people through confiscatory taxes or bans? Some believe it is. The MSZWC and the mayor believe that people should be forced to change their behavior, but there is a young lady who should be an example for all of us. Caroline is a 9-year-old girl who took a different approach to the problem of plastic bags. Caroline couldn’t use political power to force others to bend to her will, so she decided to encourage people to use fewer plastic bags by promoting personal responsibility.

Rather than looking to government to ban bags, Caroline wanted to demonstrate the power of individuals inspiring others to change their communities through education and cooperation. She had a booth at the Talkeetna Earth Day and demonstrated how to make reusable bags from t-shirts. She talked to people about choosing personal responsibility, about the cost and unintended consequences of forcing businesses to comply with a bag ban, and how such a ban would trickle down to the consumer. She also collected money at her booth for the Mat-Su Recycling Center, where her project was displayed as an educational tool for visitors.

Caroline’s story is incredible because she understands the power of community coming together to encourage personal responsibility. Sadly, some adults (who should be wiser) believe that the solution to “the plastic bag problem” is to take away personal liberty and use political force to ban them. Rather than strengthening the community through mutual cooperation, their approach will be polarizing, creating new regulations for businesses and making life more inconvenient for their neighbors. Hopefully, those who shop in Wasilla will recognize the wisdom of 9-year-old Caroline and through emails and testimony will encourage the members of the Wasilla City Council to oppose this ban.

Todd Smoldon lives in Willow. He has taught high school economics and social studies for 20 of the 30 years that he has lived in Alaska.