Policy Reports

Do Bans on Plastic Grocery Bags Save Cities Money?

Consumers choose plastic bags far more often than paper or reusable bags to carry their purchases. Compared to paper and reusable bags, plastic bags are lightweight, strong, flexible and moisture resistant. In addition, they are easy to store and reusable for multiple purposes. Despite these characteristics and their popularity, a growing number of municipalities and some states are enacting laws aimed at reducing the use of plastic (and sometimes paper) grocery bags. The laws range from outright bans to taxes. Advocates have given a number of justifications for placing restrictions on consumers’ use of carry-out plastic bags. These include concerns about the scarce resources used to create the bags, environmental harms when they are disposed of improperly, the visible blight of roadside litter, and the cost of disposing or recycling them.

Brief Analyses / Health

A Brief History of Health Savings Accounts

In January 2004, 250 million non-elderly Americans gained access in principle to health savings accounts (HSAs). Since then, individuals have been able to self-insure for some of their own medical needs and manage some of their own health care dollars.