Although I too agree that the grocery bag tax would be bad for Portland, and that the city should do more to educate consumers instead of punishing them, as noted in your editorial (“Grocery bag tax would be bad deal for Portland,” Oct. 10), I also view it as much of the same mindset of educated people concerned about recycling and doing their little bit to save the environment.

Charging a fee for trash bags has educated the public in recycling because it hits their pocketbook. Recycling of reusable bags has been made easy by all stores that have a place to deposit them upon entering.

Maybe stores could offer a free environmental bag for every $50 purchase (which would be easy for most consumers to collect in a month’s worth of shopping at grocery stores, Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, etc.)

Methinks the education begins with corporate America in this waste-producing world, not the consumer.

I have to get back to my protest of Wall Street and greed. Buy local and keep Portland independent, but please think global — and be a bag lady like me.