Corporation pledges empty

It may seem like something small, but it simply underscores the meaninglessness of corporate pledges to do the right thing whether involving going green or supporting health reforms.

I’m referring to the decision by Fred Meyer Stores’ parent company — massive Kroger Corp. — to drop 5-cents-per-bag credits for customers providing their own shopping bags, a fiat which negates what had been a relatively progressive voluntary step. No other major grocer in this region matched it.

As anyone aware of widely reported huge numbers of ocean creatures’ deaths from ingesting discarded plastic pellets (used making everything from garbage bags to toys) will attest, grocery chains’ financial incentives for customer reuse of their own canvas bags produce significant environmental contributions.

So, if the so-called magic of the marketplace can’t function to compel major corporations to honor mundane promises to go green with simple nickel-per-bag credits, just how can health care consumers trust insurance providers’ promises to retain popular health care reform provisions even if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the reform law?

Answer: They can’t. Corporations’ promises to do things that aren’t required by rule of law are as valuable as used bathroom tissue.

Robert A. Ethington

Spokane