Visiting my parents in Massachusetts, I was surprised to learn they no longer own their own trash cans. My hometown apparently borrowed $800,000 in the middle of a recession to give everyone new trash cans with tracking devices in them, so they can be retrieved if lost or stolen. The idea is to limit people’s ability to throw away trash, forcing them to recycle more and pay fees to the government for additional garbage removal. Call it trash can socialism if you’d like, but it is garbage and it smells horrible.
