As a registered Democrat, I will vote this November for Nicole Malliotakis for mayor because she is among many in the NYS Assembly opposing the NYC Bag Fee.
Her positions on other issues can be found at
https://nicolemalliotakis.com/issues/
Besides, the fact is NYC had some outstanding Republican mayors in the past; in fact, they even named one of our airports after him!
It is about time that we break the glass ceiling and have our first female mayor in NYC.
Also, it is about time to put an end to complacency and an end to politics as usual in our city. Politicians who want to be hired by the electorate on Election Day need to earn it and not just say that he’s a Democrat and therefore gets the position by right.
Regarding the NYC Bag Fee, everyone is for the environment.
But, everyone is for democracy
ALSO.
De Blasio and the city council dictated the NYC bag fee.
The plastic bag and the previous paper bag are an integral part of life in NYC for generations, much akin to breathing air.
You do not charge a nickel to breath air and you cannot charge a nickel for a bag.
If de Blasio wanted to change such a basic component of city life, he must get permission from his boss through a referendum.
In addition, it will be detrimental to businesses by destroying “impulse shopping” within the city along with impeding the patronage of stores on the city’s periphery close to the suburbs without this added charge; if you walk one block to the left you will pay more than if you walk one block to the right.
Moreover, except during a recession when there is a price-and-wage freeze for a limited time, it may not be constitutional for government to force private businesses to charge a certain price for a particular item in this free capitalistic economy where only supply and demand set the price.
As I said, for such a controversial issue affecting the way of life of EVERYONE, de Blasio needed to get permission directly from his boss, the electorate, through a referendum on the November ballot. Public hearings won’t cut it; for the electorate are working and have family obligations and other personal matters on their mind and thus cannot waste their time to micromanage their employee’s simplistic approach.
If de Blasio does not do a satisfactory job by being too simplistic in his approach to the bag issue, fire him at the next Election Day. But we do not have the time to micromanage our hired-hand (de Blasio) by going to his hearings. Rather, he must go to his boss through a referendum!
The real answer for de Blasio is to put his money where his mouth is and invest in the development of a biodegradable bag which then can be mandated by the city council to be used. Besides creating new jobs for this undertaking, the royalty from the patent can help fill the city’s coffers.
In fact, Tony Avella’s Senate Bill S4656 in the 2017 state legislative session essentially does that.
This capitalistic approach is more suited to our democracy than de Blasio’s and the city council’s dictatorial approach. .
Bottom line: There can be
NO slight alteration to New Yorkers’ traditional use of bags! Come up with a better answer or get fired!
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
