Updated title: used to be Sanjay Gupta Can Fix This Economy
This is the key to fixing our economy and I'm surprised it's going so unnoticed. Some politicians like David Patterson and Gavin Newsom have a piece of this plan. See this video of Sanjay Gupta in 2007.
Sanjay talks about two parts of what I think is a seven part plan. Sanjay spoke both about the sin tax and ending corn subsidies. That's good but I think the plan needs more balance. The sin tax is very regressive. More after the jump.
Part 1: Awareness
This is what Sanjay can get going. A Surgeon General's Warning: High Fructose Corn Syrup has no nutritional value, and it's consumption is linked to increased levels of obesity.
The AMA discussed something similar to this in mid 2007.
Products with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) would be clearly labeled with a warning that too much of the sweetener "may lead to obesity," under a resolution to be discussed at the upcoming American Medical Association's annual policy meeting.
In addition to adding an obesity warning on the label, the proposal calls on the AMA to urge the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to require the food industry to use non-fructose sweeteners and limit the use of high fructose syrups in their products.
Americans consumed 180 pounds of sugar each in the year 2006. And the average person consumes about 98 pounds of highly refined corn fructose per year in the USA.
Here's a graph that's informative about the prevalence of HFCS since the mid 70s.
wiki Health Effects of HFCS
and another with the levels of obesity
Red is 34-31% Obese, Orange 31-28, Yellow 28-25, Light Green 25-22, Green 21-19
Wikipedia Obesity
Between 1980-2000, obesity among adults has more than doubled; obesity among adolescents has tripled. In the US, obesity is the second-leading cause of preventable death after smoking.
Sanjay's voice and health expertise along with others can get the rest of these steps going.
Part 2: Sales Tax
A sales tax on all items that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup.
UPDATE: (David Patterson is trying to get this tax for NY State)
ALBANY - A can of Coke could soon cost New Yorkers more than just calories.
Gov. Paterson, as part of a $121 billion budget to be unveiled Tuesday, will propose an "obesity tax" of about 15% on nondiet drinks.
Part 3: End Agribusiness Welfare End /reduce Corn Subsidies.
Roughly 800 Million Bushels of Corn each year are converted into corn syrup or US consumption. They have so much extra corn that they are scrambling their minds to find out how to inject it into everything we eat. I doubt they need the subsidies.
Since the mid-90s US Federal subsidies to corn growers have amounted to $40 billion.
Part 4: End Sugar Tariffs
End/Reduce Sugar Tariffs
A system of tariffs and sugar quotas imposed in 1977 significantly increased the cost of importing sugar, and producers sought a cheaper alternative. High-fructose corn syrup, derived from corn, is more economical because the American and Canadian prices of sugar are twice the global price of sugar and the price of #2 corn is artificially low due to both government subsidies and dumping on the market as farmers produce more corn annually.
Part 5: Windfall Profits Tax
Windfall profits tax for HFCS Producers and Retailers. The largest High Fructose Corn Syrup producer in the world is Archers, Daniels, Midland.
They are quite a recession resistant stock, plumping the masses with subsidized corn engineered sugar is very inelastic just ask Coca Cola (Stock Symbol KO).
and the biggest pig of them all McDonalds. They look like they're headed for a record high.
Part 6: Infrastructure: bring back Mom and Pops
Use infrastructure plan (and money from new taxes/lost subsidies) to build/rehabilitate retail grocery/bakeries/cafes/restaurants. Sign deals with local citizens or groups of citizens to work to own these shops. Signing a long term contract for these people to pay back the gov't the cost of these shops. This will bring down rents for other local business owners as well.
Part 7: Federal-Local Cooperation: Farmer's Markets
Tie federal funding to state and local performance in assisting farmer's markets. There is certainly more that local gov'ts could do to expand access to state, city, and federal lands/buildings for open air farmer's markets. That way these new restaurateurs could have a local retailer to provide their fresh meat and produce. New bakers would have another place beyond their shop to sell their freshly baked goods. Entrepreneurs who don't feel comfortable signing a long term deal to run a shop could sign a much smaller agreement and run a table at a farmer's market.
What do other countries have that we don't have? Sure universal health care, but also, they've got small businesses.
Look at that, fresh wonderful agriculture. Hot quick food but cooked on the spot, not defrosted and fried. And what else... small business owners! They work for themselves or maybe a friend or family member. This just seems like a crucial part of a functioning society. Somehow we've moved beyond it, but I think that's a dangerous problem. It's all a part of the problem. The high obesity and heart disease rates raise health insurance prices, and the cost of health care. The lack of small business ownership forces average joes to trust their life savings with Wall-Street. This seperates the investor from the investment and reduces the information an investor has.
If you don't think it's a problem, ask a couple friends of mine.
(for those of you on slow connections, it's Joe Biden and he says that Corn Syrup is more likely to contribute to the death of your average American than terrorists.
Obama on HFCS:
Obama made his remarks as he campaigned for votes in the March 4 Democratic primary in Ohio, with 141 national convention delegates at stake.
He made health care a focus of his campaign day, visiting a hospital diabetes unit. At one point in a discussion with doctors and nurses, the talk turned to prevention of the illness in youngsters.
"If we just cut out soda pop," it would make a difference, he said.
Asked at a later news conference about the issue, he said he hopes schools will "re-examine how easily they make soda available."
Citing an increase in childhood obesity and diabetes, he said if children "are consuming vast amounts of soft drinks chock full of corn syrup, then we should, you know, consider whether we want to maybe have at least some zones like schools where they have to drink water once in a while."
I know steps six and seven are radical, and that there might be some other way to influence these events to happen. I'm thinking about anti-trust on bix box retailers and big fast food and big hardware. I know we've moved beyond manufacturing, but I pray that we haven't moved beyond the Mom and Pop as an investment. I really don't like being in a nation exclusively of fast food and day trading and retail goods from overseas.
I'm tired of this
and I'm tired of this
with the caption
Former Smith's Food King Supermarket. This was Smith's second attempt at Southern California. They built several SuperStores in the Southern California Region, however they were quickly closed down and divested to the different major chains
UPDATE: OMG it's a disease. You must click this link provided by Deviltower The Growth Of Wal-Mart
UPDATE 2: I don't want this to sound like an endorsement of Sanjay Gupta. I think it's great that he's PR and MD, I think that's a great combo for this job. I personally know very little about Sanjay's connection to big pharma or really much else about him. I would have written this no matter who the Surgeon General was. PS: Has he been officially appointed yet?
Also... Want to play a fun game ? Go to Archer Daniel's Midland's site and try and find the way that they squeeze corn in your diet (or your dog's) that disgusts you the most.