218 lines
9.0 KiB
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218 lines
9.0 KiB
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From fork-admin@xent.com Mon Sep 23 23:01:14 2002
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Mon, 23 Sep 2002 17:45:03 -0400
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From: bitbitch@magnesium.net
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Message-Id: <13434889868.20020923174444@magnesium.net>
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To: fork-admin@xent.com, "John Hall" <johnhall@evergo.net>
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Cc: "FoRK" <fork@spamassassin.taint.org>
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Subject: Re[2]: Goodbye Global Warming
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In-Reply-To: <000c01c26347$730dd770$0200a8c0@JMHALL>
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List-Archive: <http://xent.com/pipermail/fork/>
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Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 17:44:44 -0400
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How about this: A bored FoRKer said: "YAWN"
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I believe Tom had it right. Signal not noise.
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I'll start:
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Los Angeles Times September 23, 2002 Monday
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Copyright 2002 / Los Angeles Times
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Los Angeles Times
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September 23, 2002 Monday Home Edition
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SECTION: Main News Main News; Part 1; Page 13; National Desk
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LENGTH: 1013 words
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BYLINE: DANA CALVO, TIMES STAFF WRITER
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DATELINE: SEATTLE
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BODY:
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The idea came at the end of a long, frustrating brown-bag session at a
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public-policy think tank here.
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The challenge was to save the city's child-care programs. Staring into
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his empty coffee cup, the meeting coordinator's mind landed on an
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unlikely solution: Put a tax--just a "benign" dime a shot--on
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espresso.
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That led to a petition signed by more than 20,000 Seattle residents,
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and next year, voters will decide whether the tax becomes law, one
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that taps right into Seattle's legendary addiction to coffee. This is,
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after all, the town where Starbucks was born and where the $12 pound
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of beans became a staple. There is one Starbucks for every 7,000
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residents in Seattle, compared to one per 64,000 in New York. Seattle
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also has two other major coffee chains, Tully's Coffee and Seattle's
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Best Coffee, as well as countless cafes and espresso carts.
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A recent poll showed that 74% of Seattle residents would vote for the
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tax. "For people outside of Seattle who don't understand the
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consumption of espresso, [the tax proposal] can be seen as crazy,"
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said John Burbank, the think tank's executive director, "but it was
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common sense."
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Research by his nonprofit Economic Opportunity Institute showed that
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people preferred a tax on liquor or beer over one on espresso. But
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because of the large number of lattes and cappuccinos sold, a tax on
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espresso could be lower than one levied on alcohol.
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Burbank estimates the tax could generate $7 million to $10 million a
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year. City Council aides dispute his figures, saying their research
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shows the tax would bring in $1.5 million to $3 million a year.
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Burbank's institute is funded by foundations and labor unions. The
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think tank's mission is to promote public policy in the interests of
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low-income people, and it has long championed child-care issues.
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Burbank says the tax would restore cuts to the child-care programs
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made earlier this year by Gov. Gary Locke. He also says it would
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provide more low-income families with subsidies for child care,
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improve preschool programs and increase teacher salaries.
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At Bauhaus Books & Coffee, the sidewalk is dotted with tables of
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customers for whom coffee is a half-day activity, not just a drink.
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Espresso lovers like Chris Altman, who at a dime a day would spend an
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extra $36.50 a year, said the investment is worth it. "I'm OK with
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it," said the 35-year-old, stirring his iced latte. "The money's got
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to come from somewhere."
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Hope Revuelto, 25, was cooling her regular coffee ($1 because she
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brought her own mug) and reading "Zen and the Art of Pottery." She
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supports the initiative and said its critics are behaving as would be
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expected of espresso drinkers: They want the most expensive thing on
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the menu but resist paying 10 cents to help the needy.
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Some say the tax isn't the issue; they just resent being singled out.
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David Marsh, 45, a costume manager, drinks up to three espressos a
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day, which means he'd be shelling out an extra $109.50 a year. "I, for
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one, don't have kids, but I drink espresso," he said, as he sewed a
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leather collar onto a chain-mail tunic. "I don't mind paying, but I
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think everyone should pay."
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Coffeehouses are steamed about it, and they've organized as
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JOLT--Joined to Oppose the Latte Tax. Among the members are Seattle's
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Chamber of Commerce and the city's two largest coffee franchises,
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Starbucks and Tully's.
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The tax would force coffeehouses to track sales of any beverage that
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contains espresso, a task that could be an administrative nightmare
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for smaller cafes, especially during the frantic morning rush. If
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espresso counts come under suspicion, coffeehouse owners could face a
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city audit.
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University of Chicago economics professor Michael Greenstone said the tax doesn't add up.
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"The purpose of any tax is to be efficient and equitable, and this is
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neither," he said. "On the efficiency side, it's surely going to lead
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to costly efforts by both businesses and consumers to find ways to
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avoid the tax. For example, Starbucks could claim that they are using
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finely ground coffee, [instead of coffee run though an espresso maker]
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and that consequently, they are exempt from the tax. Would they be
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right? I don't know, but finding out will surely take lots of legal
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fees that could have gone to child care.
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"Of course, from a public-relations perspective, this is an ingenious
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idea, and I mean that in a cynical way. They've pitted espresso
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drinkers against child-care supporters, and who's going to side with
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the espresso drinkers?"
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In fact, the proposed tax has forced opponents into a political
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two-step, where their criticism must remain a beat behind their public
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stance of political correctness. In a liberal city like Seattle,
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corporations continually advertise their commitment to social
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activism, and throughout the debate over the initiative, JOLT members
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prefaced their opposition with endorsements of good child care.
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"Starbucks will continue to support early-learning and
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childhood-development programs through the millions of dollars we
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contribute annually," the company said. "However, Starbucks does not
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understand why the Economic Opportunity Institute would recommend an
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additional consumer tax on espresso beverages, or any other single
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consumer product."
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The City Council has yet to decide when the initiative will go before
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voters next year. The initiative's authors say it is directed at
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vendors; critics predict it will be passed on to consumers through
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higher prices, effectively punishing them for their choice of coffee.
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The tax would be applied to any drink with at least half an ounce of
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espresso, including decaf. Drip coffee would be exempt.
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Burbank says the tax would reach only a pre-selected group of
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consumers who are wealthier than those who drink drip. So, he's been
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pitching it as a modern-day Robin Hood tax, where the needy get a dime
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every time the affluent spend $3 to $4 on an espresso.
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It's the kind of political marketing that Fran Beulah, 43, finds
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funny. "I drink espresso," she said, laughing, "and I am not rich."
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JH> "I did not have sex with that woman."
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>> -----Original Message-----
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>> From: fork-admin@xent.com [mailto:fork-admin@xent.com] On Behalf Of
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JH> Mr.
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>> FoRK
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>> Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 2:12 PM
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>> To: FoRK
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>> Subject: Re: Goodbye Global Warming
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>>
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>>
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>> ----- Original Message -----
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>> From: "John Hall" <johnhall@evergo.net>
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>>
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>> > A Green once said that if the Spotted Owl hadn't existed they
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>> > would have had to invent it.
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>> A Republican once said "I am not a crook".
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--
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Best regards,
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bitbitch mailto:bitbitch@magnesium.net
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