[FRIAM] Santa Fe's Sugar Tax

Tue Apr 25 18:04:02 EDT 2017

Steve wrote: "...And as much as I like my year round bounty of fresh fruits
and veggies imported from around the world (with gawd knows how much
inefficiency and product waste/spoilage)"

George Duncan and I were in Sri Lanka in January.  We stopped at a highway
produce stand in the interior part of the island.  There for sale were
small Red Delicious apples, the type typically seen in our stores.  Those
apples were imported from Washington State.  Each apple was priced at the
equivalent of 50 cents, about what we pay here.  So how does that work?

TJ

============================================
Tom Johnson
Institute for Analytic Journalism   --     Santa Fe, NM USA
505.577.6482(c)                                    505.473.9646(h)
Society of Professional Journalists <http://www.spj.org>
*Check out It's The People's Data
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Its-The-Peoples-Data/1599854626919671>*
http://www.jtjohnson.com                   tom at jtjohnson.com
============================================

On Tue, Apr 25, 2017 at 3:38 PM, Steven A Smith <sasmyth at swcp.com> wrote:

> Gil-
>
> For what it is worth, I recommend that you buy local honey from a local
> beekeeper, probably off the books, not subject to sugar (or any other kind
> of) tax.  It will be much healthier for you (the local pollens help with
> allergies, etc.) and will support a local economy well beyond the $.02 that
> goes back into the local economy for any $1.00 you might spend at a
> supermarket (even one as folksy/homey as Trader Joes).    There are also
> locally grown raspberries and strawberries and even grapes (in season) and
> lots of fruits (cherry, peach, apricot, plum, apples. pears)...  And as
> much as I like my year round bounty of fresh fruits and veggies imported
> from around the world (with gawd knows how much inefficiency and product
> waste/spoilage) it is possible that we (of northern Euro descent?) were
> evolved for a diet that varies with what is available and might be
> healthier not to have the same continuous access to foods rich
> flavor/fat/sugar year round?
>
> The catch is that you will probably pay as much for all these as you would
> for the "sugar-taxed" versions shipped in from another hemisphere with
> artificial economies and hidden costs to the environment and society.
> But the extra will go to your friends and neighbor's who are trying to make
> a living instead of Martinez's warchest or whatever might be offensive
> about all this.
>
> While I'm not big on government interference in matters such as this, it
> might just be that it all balances out and rebalances the false economies
> of subsidized (cheap oil/war) transportation and third-world
> labor/production.   Maybe in these Trumpian times I'm just looking for
> Silver linings and new recipes for Lemonade from Lemons?   Or living a
> PollyAnna/PanGlossian delusion.
>
> Just Sayin'
>
> - Steve
>
> PS.  Next time I get a jar of honey from my local apiarist, I'll grab you
> one "on the house".
>
>
> On 4/25/17 1:54 PM, Gillian Densmore wrote:
>
> As someone that's currently...Financially Challenged. All this crap adds
> up, and as you note it's to easy to interpert how you want.
> For example: I am (famously?) a tea lover. I love all kinds of tea,
> medically helpful, just fun etc. Why do I mention that? How likely would
> they decide my 2-3buck honey that makes fucking awsome mid afternoon tea
> that's refreshing suddenly jump to 4-5 dollars?
> Well 5 bucks to me
>
> Besides if they REELY want free kick ass education (Great please PLEASE
> do) Their might be better ways to go. Grocery stores (looking at you
> smiths) charge out the ass for healthy fun to eat food.For example ERMG
> It's so fun and nice to have fruits(Grapes and strawberries) that in my
> famly I'm infamously for loving. Thouse have sugers in them that are good
> for you(no idea how that works).As you point out the wording leaves it open
> to the Martinez's of the world to say: gee that 2buck a bag of graps is now
> I duno 5bucks!
> for those keeping tabs that'd be a tank of gas between the honey and
> fruits. Ouch.
>
> I'm skeptical yet another tax will help anything.
> Nickle and diming people does very little to help anyone. And frankly just
> makes people mad and wonder where all that's going.
>
> I wholy agree Santa Fe needs a fun kick ass research school And have tried
> to make one twice going on third go.
> The poloticing around education in this city and state like I said to Edd
> and You made me wonder if I was on drugs LOL  Or maybe they were.
>
> Sufficed to say I doubt this'll help. Their needs to be a plan and the
> city definatly needs to do somethings to bring in money. I'm just skeptical
> this is the way to go.
>
> On Tue, Apr 25, 2017 at 12:30 PM, Tom Johnson <tom at jtjohnson.com> wrote:
>
>> For the FRIAMers in Santa Fe who might be interested in the sugar-tax
>> vote....
>>
>> There's an interesting issue coming up on a May 2nd city ballot here in
>> Santa Fe: Whether the city can tax drinks with sugar. I may have a short
>> letter running in The New Mexican this week, but here is the link to "Sugar
>> Tax initiative built with a faulty scaffold"
>> http://tiny.cc/SugarTaxOpEd
>>
>> TJ
>> <http://tiny.cc/SugarTaxOpEd>
>>
>> ============================================
>> Tom Johnson
>> Institute for Analytic Journalism   --     Santa Fe, NM USA
>> 505.577.6482 <%28505%29%20577-6482>(c)
>>           505.473.9646 <%28505%29%20473-9646>(h)
>> Society of Professional Journalists <http://www.spj.org>
>> *Check out It's The People's Data
>> <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Its-The-Peoples-Data/1599854626919671>*
>> http://www.jtjohnson.com                   tom at jtjohnson.com
>> ============================================
>>
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>
>
>
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