Beach council led the way in bleeding public drop by drop

I was wrong. I admit it. Looks like I missed the big picture.

Faithful readers will recall several rants from last winter against new trash fees that Virginia Beach was noodling.

I argued - futilely, it turned out - that trash collection was a core city service and should continue to be funded as it always had, through property taxes. I predicted that the inauguration of garbage fees could lead to other innovative levies: Crime fees, for instance, for anyone who calls a cop. Stretcher taxes, for anyone who needs an ambulance. Cheesewagon charges, for kids who ride the bus to school.

I also argued that it was wrong for the city to pick the pockets of its poor, taxpaying schlumps who were simply trying to tread water in this rotten economy.

Naturally, I was ignored.

City politicians smelled new money and merrily voted to impose the trash tax, beginning in January.

It's been five months since that decision, and I now see the wisdom in it. Looks like the politicians were only trying to prepare us. They wanted to soften the blow for citizens when private enterprise began clobbering us with new and inventive charges.

By trying to pretend that trash collection had been a freebie until now and that anyone who balked at paying 10 bucks a month for this service was a cheapskate, Resort City honchos were laying the groundwork for what banks are getting ready to do now: charge debit card fees.

Bank executives are trying to convince the public that debit cards have been free all along. They want us to believe that $5 a month is a bargain for the privilege of electronically accessing our own money.

It was inevitable, I suppose.

Once Washington capped the so-called "swipe fees" that banks could charge merchants on debit purchases, the bankers had to find that lost loot somewhere else.

Guess where they looked? To those of us who threw away our checkbooks ages ago in favor of debit cards.

Never mind that electronic transfers undoubtedly save banks tons of money and reduce paperwork. Never mind that banks have been miserly with interest on savings for years. Never mind that many of us have our paychecks deposited directly into our accounts, giving bankers the use of billions of our dollars week after week.

The industry says debit cards were a freebie. We know they weren't.

Bank of America has emerged as the villain. But it's simply the first bank to announce the change. Others already are following suit. Before long, this will be just another $5, or more, that vanishes from our accounts every month.

Of course, these new fees may give other struggling businesses ideas. Perhaps dry cleaners will begin charging hanger fees. After all, they've been giving us those wires for years.

Can supermarket bag fees be far behind? Those flimsy plastic sacks cost money.

Restaurants, which already coerce diners into paying for the luxury of having food delivered to the table, may want to charge for other extras as well. Water, for instance. Cutlery. Napkins.

Next thing you know, employers may start to collect cubicle rent from office workers. Isn't it enough to have a job, without expecting employers to give you a free place to work?

As we look to the future and ponder other taxes and fees coming our way, I'm glad to live in Virginia Beach, where city honchos cared enough to get us ready.

Kerry Dougherty, (757) 446-2306, kerry.dougherty@cox.net