A "New Garbage Tax" and other things to worry about!

Over the weekend there was a small news article that you may have missed.

Mayor Bloomberg said he is considering charging people for how much they throw away as a way to plug the budget gap.

Under the considered plan, households would pay more for throwing away more, theoretically encouraging New Yorkers to be less wasteful. Recycling would still be free. Bloomberg said nothing is definite, but "I'm not going to rule out anything, there's no sacred cows."

Let’s stop and think about this for a moment. There is a whole lot more going on here than just the usual proclivity of our elected officials to “tax anything it can!”, although that by itself is bad enough.

Consider the following...


The city produces 11,000 tons of trash every day, and a fifth of residential property taxes is allocated to the collection, and disposal of the some 11,000 tons of trash generated every day.

Obviously, if the city moves forward with this idea, and it will, citizen complaints will abound charging that the new, residential trash centered, revenue stream would amount to a “double tax”, as we are already paying property taxes for this service.

The city will, of course, respond that this new charge is not a “tax”, but rather of new “fee” or “surcharge”. Additionally, within the next few months, the city will expand their “explanation” of such a new revenue producing program under the umbrella of a “environmentally green” program and claim that it is more a means of ensuring that a larger percentage of residential trash is properly “recycled.”

Another issue that must be looked at is, just how will the city determine how much trash an individual is disposing of?

I suspect that when (not if) this new program is started we will see residential trash bins fitted with RFID (radio frequency identification) microchips. Britain is already doing this as is Alexandria, Virginia right here in the United States. Obviously when this happens, there will be concerns raised regarding personal privacy issues.

The city will respond to the issue of privacy concerns by simply stating that we are already an “RFID microchip” society. Ever chipped your pet dog or cat with an ID tag? Or used an EZPass through a toll booth? Or paid for gas using ExxonMobils' SpeedPass? Then you've used RFID.

Michelin, which manufactures 800,000 tires a day, is going to insert RFID tags into its tires. The tag will store a unique number for each tire, a number that will be associated with the car's VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). Good for Michelin, and car manufacturers, and fighting crime. Potentially bad for you. Who will assure your privacy? Do you really want your car's tires broadcasting your every move?

Credit Card companies are combining smart cards and RFID chips so people can conduct transactions without having to use cash or coins. These smart cards can also be incorporated into cell phones and other devices. Thus, you could pay for parking, buy a newspaper, or grab a soda from a vending machine without opening your wallet. This is wonderfully convenient, but the specter of targeted personal ads popping up as I walk through the mall, a la Minority Report, does not thrill me.

The European Central Bank may embed RFID chips in the euro note. Ostensibly to combat counterfeiters and money-launderers, it would also enable banks to count large amounts of cash in seconds. Unfortunately, such a move would also makes it possible for governments to track the passage of cash from individual to individual. Cash is the last truly anonymous way to buy and sell. With RFID tags, that anonymity would be gone. In addition, banks would not be the only ones who could in an instant divine how much cash you were carrying; criminals can also obtain power transceivers.

Just something to think about!