Beginning of the 16 Hour Day.

Let’s skip the story as to why I work three part-time jobs, the nightly news tells me that I am not alone. The boss from one job has been riding me because he is under duress himself. I know this and I put up with it since family works both ways. A headache of a long story afterwards I resolve today’s issue to get back to my other job.

I am happy to have enough work, at times too much work. I reflected on a recent story about Governor Paterson grumbling about not giving his staff raises (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/12/paterson-ripped-for-staff_n_573246.html). His defense was that his aides took on additional responsibilities and/or were promoted. I am not so happy anymore.

Start with the taxes on my grandpa’s Ensure. No lie, check the ingredients http://ensure.com/products/ensure. A sugared beverage means taxed beverage! Then mix in complaints about no being able to pay off his cronies with my money by his boss. Commissioner Daines isn’t defending a government health policy but a public fleecing initiative.

Will the South blame the Yankees again?

In our nations capitol, the city government is considering a beverage tax.

http://nodcbevtax.com/Home_Page.html

Please alert your friends in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and of course Washington, D.C. that bad news travels only slightly faster then bad ideas.

News from Doctor Kaplan

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/04/26/1031212/research-doesnt-support-goal-of.html

"As a doctor with a strong interest in research and public health policy, I find the current debate over a soda tax in New York disappointing. The state has told us that this tax will reduce obesity. There is simply no authoritative health study to justify this claim; on the contrary, repeated clinical studies tell us that this effort will fail."

- Michael G. Kaplan, M. D., is an attending physician at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.

NY Soda Tax

Soda as with all food in New York is already taxed by the state at 4% and by the county between 3-5%. It already contributes to the coffers of the state. Then add in the fact that the state keeps 80% of the unredeemed bottle deposits. Now these politicians want to add another tax that will amount to 15%-25% levy depending on the liquid to price ratio. On a 20-oz dollar soda, one would pay an extra 33 cents in money that would go to government.

They are singling out soda for punishment when it is NOT the only product that uses HFCS. I personally am a big fan of the new Pepsi made from cane sugar. It would be taxed the same because it is a sugar-sweetened beverage. So this is more then just soda, sorry Starbuck Frappuccino fans, but less then everything. So eat those Hostess cupcakes to your less taxed delight.

Commercial soft drinks have been around since the 1600's, but the obesity problems of the country the last 3 decades. The culprit is lifestyle, so could one get a tax rebate for going to the gym and maybe employing a personal trainer. When Paterson originally proposed the soda tax, he also recommended an addition tax on gym memberships and personal trainers. The politicians are failing to address the issue and are using the health crisis as smokescreen for their Ponzi schemes.

One could go on about the failings of our government to address the issue, like having kids sit in gym class to write papers on the history of volleyball because all education must have a number grade attached under No Child Let Behind. If a person cannot see their toes, they only need to look in the mirror.

We cannot allow the government to legislate personal morality and choice. The 18th Amendment teaches us the lesson of unintended consequence when the government tells the People what is "Sin".

Unintended Consequences

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvO7nW4EqA

This video makes me think of unintended consequences. These politicians speak about taxing pennies. This regressive tax adds dollars to our grocery bill. I wonder about if these same hacks have considered how much of this tax will be spent on replacing government letterhead after they’re thrown out of office.

Why do bad ideas never just die?