I just got a letter in the mail. Needless to say, before I describe it, this “letter” is junk mail. It’s from some insurance company, and because it had a little “personal access card” glued to the letter, I opened the folded sheet to see if there was any magnetic strip on the card. Now opened, I began to read the letter:
As a responsible driver, we think you may qualify for a reduction in your 2009 auto insurance rates.
This is funny. Why you ask? I haven’t driven nor owned a car for nearly nine years. Looks like I get yet another benefit from being carless.
But this reminds me of another benefit that came up recently. A lot of grocery stores I’m familiar with give a credit to you if you bring your own bags. Well, my brief time in Louisville has shown me that the Krogers here were giving us a 5¢ credit for every cloth bag we brought. How nice! Largely insubstantial, but nice indeed. That was until last weekend when I noticed the cashier’s ringing in our “credits” were not indicating the 5¢ return. Curious about this discrepancy, I asked.
Evidently, this benefit will only apply to those who not only bring their own cloth bags, but also buy gasoline from Kroger. The credit doesn’t go towards your grocery bill, but towards any gas you intend on buying from Kroger. This begs the question as to Kroger’s original intention of offering the credit. Whatever greenwash they plugged with the original bag credit is ruined by the benefit only going to motorists now. Bring your own bags instead of using ours not to reduce consumption but to increase the incentive to drive. Where are the Kroger gas pumps anyway?
Bah! It’s really just mildly disappointing.
crankedmag 