Recently, we ranted about the Liquor Control Board of Ontario hitting up customers for donations for a charity called Tree Canada. As the charity’s name would suggest, they’re all about planting trees in Canada.

So, what’s wrong with this picture? Plenty. First, we hate the shakedown at the cash register for a charity. And it’s even worse when a provincial liquor monopoly is doing such a shakedown. We visit an LCBO store not by choice but rather by necessity.

And if the LCBO is truly concerned about trees — of which there are billions in Canada — then why doesn’t this entity stop using paper bags, given that paper is, you know, derived from trees.

The LCBO is asking its customers to make a donation to something called Tree Canada. Because with hundreds of billions of trees in Canada, shaking down taxpayers is apparently a priority for the government monopoly.

FULL REPORT by @TheMenzoid: https://t.co/vlgsPmk0Z2

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 23, 2025

We like to read the comments section. And for the LCBO rant, our guess is about 99% of viewers who weighed in were in agreement with our position.

But then we came across this interesting comment from John Bennett, who had this to say: “Kill off the paper bag industry??? These people just got them back. Holy F***. These people just want to work.”

Ok, first things first: by every benchmark, plastic is better than paper when it comes to packaging. From the strength of plastic to the ability to reuse plastic, it’s absolutely no contest when it comes to plastic versus paper.

But Mr. Bennett contends we should continue to cling to paper bags because… there are people employed making paper bags?

This is what we call Mustard Economics. When we say Mustard Economics, we’re referring to a classic Abbott and Costello routine regarding Lou’s aversion to this particular condiment. Bud, however, maintains that Lou should nevertheless consume mustard due to the number of jobs at stake in the mustard industry — even if he hates the taste of the stuff.

Now granted, we don’t know if Abbott and Costello were making a covert economic statement vis-à-vis propping up industries not due to merit but rather due to jobs at stake. Indeed, going by Bud’s philosophy, we should still be manufacturing wagon wheels because of the number of people employed making wagon wheels — a wheel that is no longer needed in big quantities these days thanks to the emergence of the automobile.

So, sorry Mr. Bennett. Mustard Economics is a losing proposition. Consumers should not be forced to consume an inferior and/or obsolete product just because of the jobs at stake. And how about this as a viable solution? Get the people in the paper bag industry to shift over to making plastic bags — you know, so they can manufacture a product that people actually want to use.

Donate to Rebel News

Unlike almost all of our mainstream media competitors, Rebel News doesn’t receive any government funding. We rely on our generous audience to help keep us reporting.

Optional email code

Canadian Dollars U.S. Dollars Australian Dollars British Pounds

Amount

$25

$50

$75

$100

$250

$500

$1,000

$2,500

Other

$

One-time

Monthly

DONATE