Archives for the 'coke' tag
Coke CEO to Prez: You’re Red!
Things are getting rough out there. President Barack Obama called Kanye West a “jackass” yesterday, the same day that the CEO of Coca-Cola basically called the president a commie:
Coca-Cola Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent said the idea of a federal tax on soft drinks, under consideration by the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama, is “outrageous.”
“I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink,” Kent said today, responding to an audience question at the Rotary Club of Atlanta. “If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around.”
The Coke CEO was responding to a quote from Obama in the October issue of Men’s Health, about the president’s openness to anti-obesity soda taxes.
‘‘I actually think it’s an idea that we should be exploring. There’s no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda.”
In fact, this seems to be a bit of a nothing-burger (which has no calories!), since Obama follows up on the quote with this:
“Obviously there is resistance on Capitol Hill to those kinds of sin taxes….Legislators from certain states that produce sugar or corn syrup are sensitive to anything that might reduce demand for those products. And look, people’s attitude is that they don’t necessarily want Big Brother telling them what to eat or drink, and I understand that.”
In his heart of hearts, Obama would clearly love to tax soda. And he may yet get his wish. But for the moment he is worn down, beaten by uppity legislators and people who like fizzy, corn syrupy drinks. Having the CEO of an all-American/massive multi-national company compare his administration’s policies to those of the Soviet Union should be good for another few weeks of presidential despair.
Via CCF
Semi-crossposted at Reason.com
To the Moon and Beyond
Just in time to commemorate the moon landing,
Coca-Cola announces a better-than-expected second quarter profit. Forward, C.R. MacNamara!
Okay, so you guys may be the first to shoot a man to the moon, but if he wants a Coke on the way, you’ll have to come to us.
The Pause That Refreshes–A Links Roundup
Health care and financial markets are not enough. The Obamas are now going to lead us on the path of righteous eating, for the children of course.
A self-described libertarian anarchist hates Coke. Interesting. The ones I know enjoy capitalism. Is it because he’s English?
Speaking of capitalism and marketing, here’s an example of it modern style courtesy of Chipolte, providing you hefty calories with INTEGRITY.
Whether it’s from calories with integrity or those without, we’re fat. The world is getting fat. So let the modern hand wringing begin: Write a book!
People are too fat, but food still costs too much in the developing world. It’s not particularly cheap either in these cities.
An economist walks into a bar…
Big Apple Tax Bite
Growing up, there was a policy in the Mangu-Ward household known as the “tax bite.” When mom or dad—mostly dad—helped a kid open a package or bottle, they’d take a cut. A single potato chip, a sip of Coke, a bite of ice cream—each vanished as part of the brutal “tax bite” regime. This is probably why I became a libertarian.
This week, New York is discussing instituting its own tax bite:
Gov. Paterson, as part of a $121 billion budget to be unveiled Tuesday, will propose an “obesity tax” of about 15% on nondiet drinks.
This means a Diet Coke might sell for a $1 – even as the same size bottle of its calorie-rich alter ego would go for $1.15.
People. How many time must we go over this? Soda doesn’t make you fat. Calories make you fat. Yes, soda contains calories. But so do all other foods. The fine folks at Coca-Cola are powerful indeed, but they are not single-handedly making Americans chunky, and it’s absurd to pretend that they’re somehow more culpable than the makers of all-natural peanut butter, or high-end truffles. Or, you know, hot dogs.
Crossposted at reason.com
