The infantilization of drinkers remains the top marketing point for the [prefab drink mix producers]. The flacks for that supermarket standby, Rose's Cocktail Mixers, sent out a press release for their Mojito mix this summer touting it as "a solution to complicated drink making." Complicated? Crush some mint in sugar syrup and fresh lime juice; add white rum, club soda and ice; stir. Is it supercilious to suggest that those for whom this is a task of surpassing complexity are better off not dulling their wits further with alcohol?
- Eric Felten, Prefab Mixes: Buyer, Beware," The Wall Street Journal (September 13 - 14, 2008)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Phraselet No. 88
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4 comments:
A great conversation starter, especially since Down Under the premixed drinks are taxed higher - extra taxation for the simple and lazy?
Taxation is crazy stuff. Do you guys have a value-added tax? The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article a while back about how that can get really weird really fast. In Britain, bras are taxed differently depending on their size; under 34B is "children's clothing" (no tax) while anything larger is "adult" (taxed).
Yeah they introduced the same thing under the name Goods & Services Tax (GST) a decade or so ago, ie raw foodstuffs are generally tax-exempt, but processed foods aren't, and the fine lines between get blurred quickly.
Before the days of GST though, just about every man and his dog in small business seemed to be finding ways of living tax-exempt and having his society paid for by employees through income tax. But no system's perfect - while this reined in one issue, it gave us a whole bunch of new ones. But that's a whole other story... (I'm willing to bet state & federal politics & tax laws in the US are at least as bizarre as they are here)
Oh, yes, we have some weird ones. The so-called Death Tax and Marriage Penalty are particularly favorite targets. Can't figure out why they're still around.
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