Beverage sales aren’t flatlining in Mexico … yet
The results are in: Mexico’s soda tax is working—albeit at a moderate rate.
Sales of sugary beverages decreased by 6% in 2014, compared to estimated volumes based on pretax trends, according to a study by the medical journal BMJ. Furthermore, sales decreased 9% among households of lower income levels.
Mexico implemented the tax, which equated to about a 10% price increase, on sugary beverages in 2014 to help curb high obesity rates. (Nearly a quarter of Mexican adults and a third of children are said to be overweight, The Wall Street Journal reports).
The BMJ study concluded that “continued monitoring is needed to understand purchases longer term, potential substitutions and health implications.”
Paper or plastic? They’re now your only options
Styrofoam is no longer welcome in Washington, D.C. The district has banned polystyrene foam food and drink containers as part of a set of environmental initiatives that also includes requiring businesses to use compostable disposable dining products by 2017, The Washington Post reports.
Cities such as New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Seattle already have similar bans. To comply with these local laws, Dunkin’ Donuts, which has long served coffee in foam cups, has started using plastic cups.
In D.C., an establishment not in compliance will be issued a warning and given 30 days to follow the new law. A business still using the containers after 30 days will be fined $100, which could jump to $3,200 for repeat offenders.
“We’ve noticed that, across the board, a good portion of businesses are already foam-free,” Julia Christian, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Environment, told the Post.
Government behind the wheel of autonomous cars
Self-driving cars have been deemed the future of the automobile industry. But it’s questionable when we will start seeing autonomous vehicles on the road. Support from the Obama administration, however, could push up the timeline.
The administration recently proposed a 10-year, $4 billion investment to accelerate the development and adoption of autonomous-vehicle technology, USA Today reports. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator Mark Rosekind said their goal is to one day eliminate deaths attributable to car accidents.
“We ask ourselves, ‘What if human error could be eliminated?’ ” Foxx told reporters at the North American International Auto Show. “That is a possibility worth pursuing.”
Paid Leave & Politics
Long absent from presidential races as an issue, paid family leave is having its day in the spotlight. While most of the GOP candidates oppose a national policy, Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have made it part of their agendas.
Clinton’s paid-family-leave proposal would give working parents 12 weeks off after the arrival of a baby or to take care of a sick or injured relative. She has proposed a new tax on the wealthy to pay for leave.- Sanders also supports 12 weeks of paid leave, but he would pay for it with a $1.61 payroll tax. “The strength of a very small and modest increase in the payroll tax enshrines these pieces of legislation into our country, makes every worker own this legislation,” he said.
- On the GOP side, Marco Rubio would give businesses a 25% nonrefundable tax credit for offering at least four weeks of paid family leave, limited to 12 weeks and $4,000 per employee each year.
Sources: CBS News, Huffington Post
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