a musing julius…

after nearly 3 years in the state of michigan, i finally decided to apply for a state driver’s license. mainly because my illinois one was due to expire, but i figured its about time for me to cut free of my last illinois tie, and make the switch to michigan, and make a largely symbolic conservative vote in an area that’s consistently recognized as one of the more liberal in the country. (despite my year-over-year homer picks in fantasy football, it’s not happening in the general election) 

as everyone knows, the dmv secretary of state is the mecca of poor photographs. so imagine my surprise, that after 3 years of living in michigan, and nearly 5 years since my last photo was taken for the illinois license, i was shocked to see my new picture was actually…good. my old ID…well aside from looking nothing like me, contained an awkward and forced smile of an overweight college frat guy who went to the secretary of state to get a license that wasn’t covered in red “under 21″ reminders. 

my passport photo, which is less than a year old, needs to be changed too. i look like i stole some other passport to fly internationally. so shockingly crazy, that i bet airport security officials that have checked my passport have stayed up late at night thinking about how they let someone through the cracks, and it’s all their fault…ok, maybe not, but still.

anyway, i look at pictures just 12 months old, and i cannot recognize myself. pictures from college don’t appear to be me, and range from me looking like a 16 year old just learning to drive, to a 47 year old man who just got through a divorce.

it’s just amazing how a good driver’s license picture can make me think all of that.

i hadn’t been to eastern market since my aspiring radass visited in december. at that time, even in december, eastern market was bustling with business, shops and vendors sold their goods. today i returned with the intention of acquiring everything i needed to make some baby back ribs for consumption (i had a taste for it recently)

despite arriving earlier than i usually do, eastern market was empty, and under construction. walking into the rafal spice company was my first visible evidence that michigan is on tough times. the shelves, normally filled with different hot sauces, spices, mustards, rice, beans, teas, coffees, oils, vinegars and everything in between were barren. a store that has over 250 jars of uniquely different herbs and spices had run out of most everything. even italian seasoning was no longer available. my only source for smoked paprika had run out long ago, and even simple bbq sauce (of which they usually stock 30 kinds) was tough to find. their usual stock of 30 different whole coffee bean barrels were reduced to just two. the 20 barrels of decaf were all out.

it was shocking. i instantly remembered the stories my parents told me of communist poland, where store shelves were empt, and finding something “special” was difficult. i’m happy i spent money in the store today, because its seriously one of my favorite places in the world. the michigan and detroit economy is bad. but i had no idea it was this bad. in many ways, it hurt.

it’s a stark contrast, as i look outside my window downtown, i see development, a 25 story casino, luxury condos, wine bars, et cetera, being built just steps away. but take a 5 minute stroll east of my front door, and it feels like the city is crumbling, and i’m just one of the few souls remaining until someone forces me out of here.

i want to help as much as i can….i just don’t know how. :-/

the michigan deposit law is the stupidest and most idiotic law ever. for those unaware, michigan charges a 10 cent deposit for “beverage containers” (glass, paper, airtight metallic containers, or plastic with a volume of less than 1 gallon) that contain a “beverage” (which is defined as any non-alcoholic carbonated drink, or beer, ale, carbonated malt beverages or mixed wine or spirit drinks.) 11 other states have enacted similar laws.

the reason the law was enacted was two reasons:

1. michigan’s recycling rates dropped below many states in the country
2. michigan’s litter rate was increasing rapidly 

based on MDOT evidence, the michigan litter rate along major roadways did infact drop, from 200+ containers per mile to 45 containers per mile. but the recycling bit…here are some fun facts.

1. the michigan law does not require bottlers to recycle the beverage containers that they collect. only that they must collect them from retailers that collect bottles from consumers.
2. michigan does not collect statistics on beverage container return rates. it only measures the amount of money collected and paid out by the treasury. sadly, this also means fraud calculations are not included in any of the published numbers paid out by the state for bottle deposits. however, research by the state of michigan estimates fraud on returning out of state beverage containers reaches 50-150 million containers a year. that’s $5-15 million in cash paid out by the state.

michigan’s own research shows that each container under the bottle bill law has a financial impact of $0.025 per container. no bottle bill has a financial impact of $0.001. that’s a savings, based on michigan data of close to $90 million a year split between retailers, bottlers, distributers and the state. the bottle law itself, well, that generates, on average of the 16 years of data i see, the state collects an average of just $12 million for use by the treasury!

another unintended consequence of the bottle deposit law is that curbside recycling has dwindled in michigan communities…which does not help with recycling other plastics and papers not covered by the law. personally, i also feel that homelessness rates are higher in areas that have bottle deposit laws. sadly, no educational papers have been written on the subject, but there have been papers written about low-income families supplementing their income using bottle deposit laws by collecting beverage containers.

here’s my fix:

1. get rid of the deposit law. it’s stupid! the recycling statistics were taken in the late 70’s, when the environment was of no concern to americans. now, it’s cool to be environmentally friendly, and our recycling statistics could rival those of states without deposit laws. 
2. use the $100 million saved each year ($90 million cost of the bottle program per year, plus $10 million paid out to fraudlent redeemers) and provide tax incentives to retailers and bottlers to implement an improved recycling programs and infrastructure in michigan communities.
3. ensure that curbside collections are indeed being recycled (something that is NOT currently required by the michigan bottle deposit law)
4. impose heavy fines on those that litter and offer rewards to anyone that reports littering or dumping.

quick fix, save the state money, improve the environment, save the average michigan household $25 a year, while saving the state, retailers, distributers and bottlers millions per year, which can go to create new jobs, something michigan so desperately needs.