Mmmmm, Turkey

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The Fiscal Times reports that the most popular sandwich in America is … wait for it … turkey.

Gobble GobbleI bought two turkeys on sale and put them in Joe’s freezer next door. We ate one at the appropriate holiday and left the other for the next big company meal.

I had not forgotten that but somehow, when Rufus was here, we spent all our time eating gumbo at Sparky’s or a really amazing pork loin with Ken and Beth and we simply didn’t eat the bird.

After turkey on the list of nearly 1,000 lunch eaters comes ham, chicken, a sub of indeterminate gender and dressing, and deli salad. I’m sorry to report that PB and J is down at number 6 on the Wall Street list and the BLT is even below that at number 7. In fact, the only other good news is that Other outperformed vege, wraps, vege wraps, and fish. Turkey-ham was nowhere on the list.

Other good news: more Americans make their sandwiches at home, schlep them to work, and eat them cold. OK, good for me but bad for restaurant owners. Packing a lunch helps stay within the monthly budget.

“Deep down, you know the truth: Any lunch you make yourself will taste 17 times better than the slimy chopped salad you’d end up buying…” Rachel Sanders wrote on Buzzfeed. Oddly, she includes the peanut butter, pickle, and potato chip sandwich but eschews (heh) turkey.

Do you think those more Americans carry a little, insulated, zippered sack or a Davy Crockett™ tin?

There are about 17,800,000 results to a search for packed lunches for adults. There are even more for kids. And not one that I surveyed mentioned packing a drink.

So.

SWMBO and I had the turkey. And had the turkey. And had the turkey. She gave up her PB and J for Lent. And we had turkey.

Don’t get me wrong. My dad ate a ham-and-cheese sandwich most lunches on most days of his adult life but I really like turkey and I particularly like turkey sandwiches.

True, I bounce around between turkey breast or tuna, ham or sliced egg, chicken or corned beef, and turkey breast. I eat roast turkey breast when I have it. Black peppered turkey. Smoked Turkey. Honey smoked turkey. Black Forest turkey. Chipotle turkey. Cajun turkey breast. Italian herb turkey. Mesquite turkey. Deep-fried turkey. And more. I like most turkey with a slice or two of fresh Florida tomato and a slice or two of seriously sharp Vermont cheddar cheese. A dab of mayo. The bread of the day may be sourdough white, potato, oatmeal, even the honey whole wheat in the fridge right now. I had it on a light rye the other day.

Just as important is a tall, cold glass of milk. Mmmmm.

Thank goodness for PB&J, though, because peanut butter jars are a time-honored tradition for carrying drinks. A peanut butter jar is about the right size, has a lid that seals, and fits perfectly in my cooler.

Back when I did commute to the office instead of rolling down the stairs, I carried a small upright cooler. It had room for a refreezable ice, my Pepsi™ bottle, a turkey sammie, the peanut butter jar of milk, and at least a couple of cookies.

I’m thinking it must be lunchtime.

 

Individual Income

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Vermont might not tax income received by a non-resident of Vermont. Except when they do. From Vermont’s “Find more information…” pages.

Non-Resident Income From Web or Internet Activities
“Income received by a non-resident of Vermont is not taxed by Vermont when the income results from activity necessary to create or maintain a world wide web page or internet site for the non-resident…

“Income received by a non-resident through a partnership, limited liability company or trust also is not taxed by Vermont if the entity’s activities in Vermont are limited to the above activities and no other activity of the entity creates nexus with Vermont.”[emphasis added]

I’m really wishing that the Vermont Tax Department didn’t feel the need to tell us that a non-resident’s non-Vermont income is not taxed by Vermont under these conditions because it reminds me that the Vermont Tax Department figures it can and will tax a non-resident’s non-Vermont income under those conditions.

 

What a Pile of Doggie Doo

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Miami-Dade Animal Services removed 42 Chihuahuas from a Miami-Dade home today; Animal Services cited “uncontrolled breeding.”

Say what?

There was no abuse, Animal Services said, but the unusually large number of dogs in the home appears to have resulted from uncontrolled breeding.

Say WHAT?

If you have more than four dogs, Animal Services will take them away from you.

Veterinarians examined the dogs, They found every last one is in good condition. Animal Services is putting the Chihuahuas up for adoption.

SAY WHAT???

Looks like you can have as many children as you want but if you have more than four dogs, Animal Services will break down your garage door and take them away from you. Then they’ll sell them to other people for $65 or $75 each.

Is this a great country or what?

 

Let Them Eat Kale

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You can’t tax people into eating kale. Except in Vermont.

Members of the Vermont House Ways and Means Committee are ready bring out H.235, a controversial bill to levy an excise tax of two cents on every ounce of sugared beverage distributed in the state. Sodas. Fruit drinks. Sports drinks. Flavored water. Energy drinks. Iced teas. And probably the orange juice I drink every morning. In short, any nonalcoholic beverage, carbonated or noncarbonated, that is intended for human consumption in Vermont. The bill won support in the Health Care Committee on Thursday.

The excise tax would be charged to the retail stores who would turn around and raise the price on the shelf. It’s a tax that would generate about $30 million in revenue per year for Vermont

Vermonters are debating what a sugar-sweetened-beverage tax would do. The consensus appears split between two choices:

(a) Merely increase sales of sugar-sweetened kale chips; or
(a) Drive sweet-toothed residents across state lines to New Hampshire where there is no sales tax or New York where not long ago, huge 17-ounce beverage cups were banned. And there are a lot of taxes.

Nobody surveyed thought it would change behaviors.

A bottle of fruit juice with some added sugar costs about 66 cents or 3/$2. That fruit juice would jump to about 86 cents with the tax, Vermont Retail and Grocers Association president Jim Harrison said. In some cases, the cost of your favorite fizzy beverage would about double.

Eat Mo Kale“There is no doubt their real reason is the $30 million,” my red-haired friend Caitlin Abbate said. “Bye bye BOGO.”

They’re both right. Two cents is about the retail price per ounce of a 2-liter bottle of Pepsi™ or Coke™ which tells me the members of the state Ways and Means Committee aren’t interested in fixing obesity in the state. They’re interested in the $30 million in new annual revenue. And, since sin taxes never drop (consider the taxes on cigarettes, whiskey, gasoline, and oregano), we can expect a can of pop to cost about the same as a pack of smokes in a year or two.

Even Florida’s manatees have taken up the cause. I reckon someone convinced them it will mean more free lettuce for them.

I filed a FOIA request and found a Vermont lobbying permit granted to the BORECOLE Corporation. Ban Or Eliminate Costly Oversight for Lettuce Eaters is a Florida corporation headquartered in Manatee County.

“The cost of a beverage would nearly double…”

I was able to speak to Josiah (not his real name) Bartlett about their lobbying efforts. “We believe in obesity and in re-education,” he said. “People need to be taught to consume kale-based foods in order to reduce the demands on lettuce.”

To that end, a pilot plant is already up and running right on the river in Bradenton where the first Kaola Pop is on trucks waiting for delivery. Kaola Pop is a kale-based cola with no high fructose or any other corn syrup, added sugars, honey, agave nectar, or even beet juice. It has no sweetening at all, just the natural goodness of Kale.

A spokesman for U.S. Sugar in Clewiston, Florida, welcomed Kaola Pop to the market.

“Someone convinced the manatees it will mean more free lettuce for them…”

“Manatees are so stupid,” Marie Antoinette said some years ago. “Let them eat kale.”