Gigabiting

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If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck…

We manage to breeze through Halloween. Any 5-year old can set you straight. So why are state legislatures struggling with the definition of candy?

Retail food sales have traditionally been exempt from sales tax, which were deemed cruel and regressive. In recent years, as cash-strapped states look to plug up budget deficits, candy taxes have become the go-to revenue source. Already this year candy or soda taxes have been proposed or passed in more than a dozen states. Read entire article.

   image courtesy of Food Mayhem

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The recession marches on.

Unemployment is still too high; consumer spending is still too low. And have you looked at the financial sector lately?

While discretionary spending on groceries and restaurants is down overall, there are some signs of life. Health, convenience, small luxuries, and qualities that can can lead to future savings; these are the features that seem worth opening wallets for.

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Up: home-brewed coffee.

We’re dusting off the Mr. Coffee or replacing it with a single-cup brewing system. Even Starbucks got in on the act launching Via Ready Brew instant coffee. When we do go out for coffee, it’s likely to be a 99¢ cup from a fast food outlet. Could $4 lattes be a thing of the past? Read entire article.

image courtesy of flickr

Remember 2007?

Unemployment was low and the Dow was high. We were mainlining energy drinks— $7 billion worth— just to keep up. If the party wasn’t stopping then neither were we.

These days, we’re all frazzled nerves. We’re looking to be soothed. We need something to bring us down from the ledge of our own anxiety. Read entire article.

They say that every cloud has a silver lining.

A byproduct of the dismal state of the economy is the glut of prime beef on the market. The high-end steakhouses that normally snap up the best grades of beef have been especially hard hit as corporate expense accounts and special occasion diners grow ever more tight-fisted. Prime beef has been showing up in warehouse clubs and local supermarkets, often at prices comparable to those for the lower-graded choice beef. Read entire article.

image courtesy of MarcWellness.com

Bucking the Big Gulp theory in 2010

The venti coffee at Starbucks. The big tub of popcorn at the movies.

It’s a basic law of restaurant economics: overhead is fixed, ingredients are cheap. Why not pile a little more on each plate? It’s win-win; the customer pays a little more for the super-sized portion and the restaurant clears a little more profit. Read entire article.

If Friday the 13th is unlucky, then 2009 makes a lot more sense. We had 3 of them on this year’s calendar– the greatest number possible in a 12 month cycle– and for too many of us, 2009 was a real doozy. In the coming year we see our one and only Friday the 13th in August.

Read entire article.