Soft Drink Tax/Cheerios is a Drug

A couple of interesting things in the news today:

A watchdog group in Washington which has taken it upon itself to monitor what we, the People eat and drink is pushing Congress to impose a sin tax on many bottled beverages.  The targeted beverages include sodas, some juice drinks, energy drinks, and other stuff which the group says contributes to obesity and obesity related health problems.  These health problems, they say, drive up the cost of healthcare and, they say, the tax will help defray the costs of our government's new healthcare scam and will decrease consumption of the evil drinks.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/nyregion/17sugartax.html

The FDA is insisting that Cheerios  is a drug because General Mills advertises the cereal as a way  to reduce cholesterol.  

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009/05/13/fool-blog-call-me-a-raging-drug-addict.aspx

  

Has our government lost it's ever-loving mind?  The Taliban is putting itself in a position to seize Pakistan's nuclear weapons, Iran is developing its own nuclear weapons and is threatening Israel, and domestic unemployment is nearing double digits.  But somehow our all-powerful federal government has time to tax soda-pop and regulating Cheerios.   Geez!

How did we get to this point at which the Washington bureaucrats are involved in our lives to the level of directly influencing what food we choose to put put into our mouths?  Is there any aspect of our lives over which these people don't desire control?  Is there no decision they trust us members of the great unwashed to make for ourselves?  

Oh, and I finally found the text of the cap and trade bill:  

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-1862

That website is a great resource, by the way.  

Well, it's late and I have to work tomorrow.  Afterall, somebody's got to pay for all this stuff.

DW

Beans and Designer Handbags

I'm afraid I must apologize.  I've been off working on another project for the last couple of weeks and have neglected my duties here.  I can't reveal exactly what I've been up to just yet, but I will say that it's well worth the sacrifice.  Also, it was brought to my attention that I got Bubba, Earl and their livestock a little confused.  In all fairness, Bubba and Earl are a little confused about a lot of things.  Sometimes it's hard to keep them straight. 

Anyway, it's time we got back to our little island.  When last we checked in on our infant economy, Slash had just planted his beans and Bubba and Earl had invested in bean futures and were working on getting their livestock ventures off the ground.  Well while we were away, Slash brought in a bumper crop of beans, giving Bubba and Earl a pretty good return on their investment.  Bubba and Earl streamlined their livestock operations in order to increase production to meet new demand.  Oh, yes, the new demand.  During our absence, a small ship wrecked near the island and a few more people washed up on shore.  While none of the newcomers brought any new products to trade, they all possess a specialized job skill. Frank is logger who immediately began harvesting the island's trees to provide Betty the carpenter with lumber. Two friends, Gary and Steve have joined forces to produce sweaters and leather goods from the by-products of Earl's sheep farm.  Gary is the creative force behind the enterprise and Steve is a whiz with leather goods and knits a mean sweater.  Britney, is a twenty-something former teen pop-star who possesses certain skills essential to a society consisting of a bunch of men and Betty.  

Betty built Bubba a new chicken house in exchange for some eggs, Earl a new barn in exchange for some leather, and Gary and Steve a design studio in exchange for some leather pants and a new handbag, which she traded to Frank for the wood to build the buildings.   Anyway, now everyone is busily trading with their neighbors, and enjoying a cornucopia of goods and services; the variety and quality of which none of our islanders could have hoped to produce individually.  

The increase in islanders and in goods and services, however, is causing more than a few problems. For example, Britney is really fond of eggs.  However, Bubba has no interest in Britney's services, but he does fancy a new designer handbag and a pair of tight leather pants.  Neither Gary nor Steve has much use for Britney's services, either but they do need a new showroom and they are both terribly fond of beans.  In direct contradiction to the island's founding charter, Slash has recently become a vegetarian and has decided to save himself for marriage.  Frank, Slash, Betty and Earl all like Britney well enough, but Frank, and Betty have no use for handbags or leather pants, and Earl is betting government will soon be invented and thinks he'd best not risk ruining his chances of being elected by being seen doing business with Bubba or Britney or seen wearing leather pants.   

Britney is trying really hard to figure out a way to get her eggs, but she may end up having to steal them.   Our little island doesn't yet have a police force, after all.  However, it also doesn't have a court system and its citizens are therefore subject to vigilante justice.  

Will Britney get her eggs?  Will Earl realize his political ambitions?  Will Frank be voted off the island for his vegetarianism?  Stop by next when these and many more questions might just be answered.