Safeway's paper bags are falling apart. Like, catastrophically.

If you've shopped at a Safeway recently and forgot your reusable tote, you already know. These bags have the structural integrity of wet newspaper. We're talking five pounds of groceries — toilet paper and a box of cereal — and the bottom gives out like it's protesting the weight.

And it's not just Safeway. As one Bay Area shopper put it, "Multiple grocery stores seem to suddenly have terrible bags. I normally remember to bring my own bags. But when I don't, they sure suck right now." Another local was more blunt: "Those bags are NOTORIOUS. Bring your own bags or suffer the wrath."

Here's what makes this a quintessentially California problem. Years ago, the state banned single-use plastic bags in the name of environmental progress. Fine. The replacement? Paper bags you're charged for — typically a dime each — that now apparently can't survive a parking lot. So we've managed to create a system where you pay more for a worse product, mandated by government regulation, that still ends up in the trash because it shredded before you reached your front door.

Peak Sacramento logic.

One resident raised a fair point that deserves an honest answer: "Why do you shop at Safeway? It's more expensive than Whole Foods and the quality isn't any better than cheaper supermarkets." It's a brutal observation, but proximity is a powerful drug, especially in a city where your grocery options within walking distance might be Safeway or nothing.

Look, we're not asking for much. If the state is going to force us to buy bags at the register, those bags should survive the journey home. That's not a radical libertarian position — it's basic consumer expectations. Either give us bags that work or stop pretending the ten-cent charge is anything other than a micro-tax on forgetfulness.

In the meantime: bring your own bags, people. Consider it a survival skill.