Taxing the Soda We Drink

I saw an interesting statistic the other day in the current issue of Time Magazine. The average American drinks 500% more soda today than Americans consumed 60 years ago. In fact Americans drink about a gallon of soda a week. The article also points out that soda seems to have a lot to do with the obesity epidemic in this country. Really? Could it have anything to do with the fact that a large Coke Classic at McDonalds is 32 ounces, as in a half gallon of soda? Are you wondering how many calories in that half gallon? 310.
Worried about the growing obesity epidemic, (more than 34% of Americans are obese) some states are trying to tax soda in an attempt to slow down consumption. Experts believe higher prices will result in people drinking less soda. Of course the soda industry is fighting lawmakers’ efforts with a good deal of success. Not that it matters. Whether it’s an addiction to the caffeine, sweets or just plain old brand loyalty, raising the price of soda isn’t going to change behavior very quickly. The state of Washington recently put a 2 ¢ tax on 12 ounces of soda. Let’s be serious for a moment. Does anyone really believe we can cut the consumption of soda by adding 2 ¢ to the price of a can of pop?
Consider how hard the task and how long it’s taken to change smoking behavior. My friend Bob and I were talking about when a pack of cigarettes cost $.26. Today the average cost of a pack of cigarettes in this country is $5.33. In states with high local and state taxes, the price approaches $10.00 a pack. Yet, about 19% of Americans still smoke, down from about 42% in 1965. In spite of higher prices, comprehensive anti-smoking campaigns, a ban on advertising and warning labels on cigarette packages that pretty much say “smoke this and you’ll die,” it’s taken more than 50 years to get the number of smokers below 20%. Soda might make you fat if you overindulge but if smokers don’t care or don’t believe that cigarette smoking leads to the permanent dirt nap, why would people worry about extra pounds?
Regardless, taxing people to change behavior works best when everyone affected has the same risks or enjoys the same benefits. Taxing cigarettes burdens people that smoke, the vast majority of whom risk serious health problems. It’s not possible to smoke responsibly. That’s not the case when it comes to soda. If I drink bottled water nine times out of ten why do I have to pay extra taxes if I occasionally treat myself to a root beer?
It’s tempting to blame the people that drink too much soda for this problem. It would be easy I suppose to accuse them of being irresponsible. But I think lawmakers are looking through the wrong side of a two-way mirror. I can’t help wondering why makers of soda and retailers offer such large portions of food and drink when it’s clear that too many people are overweight or obese.
When I was a kid the largest bottle of soda you could buy was Royal Crown’s 16 ounce cola. For most of the 1950s Coke came in 6 oz. bottles. A typical soda from a restaurant fountain was 8 ounces. Back then you would have to order four drinks to get the equivalent of today’s large Coke. People didn’t do that sort of thing then but I don’t think it was because they had more discipline. It never would have occurred to them because the size of the item they ordered implied it was an appropriate portion. So if consumers today can buy a 32 ounce drink it must be okay right?
I realize that the availability of larger portions alone doesn’t explain why people overindulge. Obviously, many people don’t overdo it. But I think it is true that restaurants and food service manufacturers back then understood they had responsibilities beyond growing market share and making a profit. While individuals must accept responsibility for their actions, marketers who concoct these so called value meals and relentlessly sell them to the public they supposedly serve, are behaving irresponsibly. Why not tax their profits on irresponsible offerings? If they raise prices to cover those losses hit them harder. Most food and beverage merchants are paying lip service to treating obesity. Maybe it’s time to put them on the kind of diet they understand.

Copyright 2010 Len Serafino. All rights reserved.

Generic Birthday Greetings are Driving Me Crazy

On the first day of every month a very good friend of mine emails a birthday list to all of the guys from our college fraternity. This month seven brothers of Kappa Phi will celebrate their birthdays. While the Rutgers University based fraternity didn’t survive the turbulent years that followed the sixties, a lot of friendships have endured and many are very strong.
Now I think it’s nice for Mike that he sends this list around but I am not enamored by the way some of the brothers use it. Let me explain. Since our frat days, my friend Paul and I have called each other on our birthdays. While Paul stayed put, building a business in Manhattan, I moved around a bit. Still, whether I was living in tiny Palmyra, New Jersey, Webster, New York (where life is worth living according to the natives) or my current home in Franklin, Tennessee, Paul always called. Paul is one of the July birthdays so when his day comes I will no doubt give him a call. Our conversations are lively, personal, and great fun. We catch up on what is happening in our lives now and indulge ourselves by retelling a story or two from the days when we were carefree college students. (If you’re reading this Paul, I did not steal the delicious London broil sandwich your mother made.) Over the years I added to the list of people I called as did Paul. And a funny thing happened after about 25 years of calling these guys. They started remembering my birthday and calling me: More terrific conversations to enjoy. If you can’t be sipping a tall one in the same pub together, hearing a good friend’s voice is the next best thing. Reading a Times New Roman font size 12 greeting is a pale comparison.
Enter the Internet age and email. I’m afraid some people are overcome with the easiness of typing out a few words and letting it go at that. Sadly, as far as I know, Microsoft has yet to figure out how to deliver the nuance that each person’s unique pitch and voice tone can deliver. And until they do we will keep calling. I hope it never stops.
Since Mike started sending his monthly blast email birthday list, my inbox has been choked by messages from a growing number of well wishers. Some recipients of Mike’s message reply to all with alacrity. Since my birthday is in January none of these guys are wishing me anything. They are just letting me know they are wishing someone else a Happy Birthday. How nice. Couldn’t they at least send an e-card to the birthday boys?
I am at a loss to understand how a generic “Happy Birthday to all the guys that have a birthday this month” is meaningful. If it makes sense to do that, why not send birthday greetings on January1st every year? “Happy Birthday to everyone I ever met” should do the trick.
The guys I went to school with always seemed bright to me. They did go to Rutgers after all, a great school that in those days was often thought to be an Ivy League university. Admittedly it wasn’t because of the academic standards, but we did play some of the Ivy’s in football every year. People seeing me in my Rutgers sweatshirt would ask, “Rutgers! Is that an Ivy League school? My answer never varied. “Almost,” I said.
But I digress. I’m annoyed by these unwanted email intrusions. Is it possible that the guys who send these vapid greetings want credit for acknowledging birthdays? Why else would Rollo, Tony and Al, not to mention Mark, feel the need to copy me and 50 other guys? These guys have been successful in life by any measurement you can name. It can’t be that they are lazy. It might be Mike’s fault for sending out the list but I hesitate to blame him. He might delete me from the group.
Listen, I do hope that every brother in the fraternity has a very happy birthday and many more of them too. But if I feel the need to tell them that I’ll call each one personally and say so. What I want more than anything for my birthday next year is this: Stop clicking “Reply to All” and send something meaningful to each birthday brother individually on the anniversary of his actual date of birth. Better yet call them. I’m sure every brother has the roster Mike sends with changes every three or four days.

Copyright Len Serafino, 2010. All rights reserved.