Not satisfied with limiting Soda, Bloomberg goes after Popcorn, Milk-based Drinks

[Cowlesy]

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/18774940/health-panel-talks-about-wider-food-ban


The New York City Board of Health showed support for limiting sizes of sugary drinks at a Tuesday meeting in Queens. They agreed to start the process to formalize the large-drink ban by agreeing to start a six-week public comment period.

At the meeting, some of the members of board said they should be considering other limits on high-calorie foods.

One member, Bruce Vladeck, thinks limiting the sizes for movie theater popcorn should be considered.

"The popcorn isn't a whole lot better than the soda," Vladeck said.

Another board member thinks milk drinks should fall under the size limits.

"There are certainly milkshakes and milk-coffee beverages that have monstrous amounts of calories," said board member Dr. Joel Forman.

Mayor Bloomberg says the drink rules are an attempt to fight obesity in the city. It would limit food service establishments in the city from serving drinks bigger than 16 ounces but would allow refills.

The New York City Restaurant Association is fighting the proposal and is considering legal action of it goes into effect.



Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/18774940/health-panel-talks-about-wider-food-ban#ixzz1xgFBpbMw

I can't believe this crap happens in America.

[matt0611]

When healthcare becomes a public expense this is what happens.

[pcosmar]

I can't believe this crap happens in America.

I keep saying it,,
You need to get out of that hell hole.

[osan]

I can't believe this crap happens in America.

It doesn't. This is not America.

[JorgeStevenson]

I mean, soda I sort of get even though I don't agree with.

But what could the rationale be for limiting popcorn sizes? Are there people who go to the movies every single day who order large popcorn? Even though I order the largest popcorn every time I go to the movies, I don't go frequently enough for it to impact my overall health. Popcorn calories probably account for 0.5% of my yearly calorie intake. If you're gonna be a health nazi, aren't there more useful things to go after?

Soda at least sort of makes sense because a huge amount of people drink it every day and one of the most frequently purchased sizes is 20oz. Popcorn and milkshakes seem more like guilty treats rather than part of people's daily habit.

[angelatc]

I can't believe this crap happens in America.

My husband comes from a long line of New Yorkers, and he's just amazed how far the old New York attitude has fallen.

[V3n]

But what could the rationale be for limiting popcorn sizes? Are there people who go to the movies every single day who order large popcorn? Even though I order the largest popcorn every time I go to the movies, I don't go frequently enough for it to impact my overall health. Popcorn calories probably account for 0.5% of my yearly calorie intake. If you're gonna be a health nazi, aren't there more useful things to go after?

Not to mention most of the large popcorns are shared between an entire family. When I go, I buy the smallest and don't upsize, just because it hurts my belly if I eat too much, but when I go with my family we buy the largest and pass it around. The only thing this will accomplish is more people buying multiple bags (one for each family member) - higher profits for the theater...

"higher profits for the theater"... hmmm... makes me think... I wonder if there's some backroom theater lobbying going on... people spending more money buying multiple sodas, now multiple popcorns.. follow the money.

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Americans are letting it happen. They shouldn't.

[donnay]

The sad thing is, they are attacking true Capitalism. The way a movie theater makes it's money is by the concession stand sales.


The bottom line is they care not a wit about your health, Bloomberg is a control-freak. If they did they would not have turned their backs on the 9/11 rescue workers.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn and it saddens me how such a once great place has gone to the dogs.

[Bruno]

Family-size bags of Doritos and other chips are also too big. They should ban all large size items, or you should have to provide proof that you have at least a family of four you are taking the large containers home to. A national ID with your health and family members listed should help to verify.

Of course, people still have their freedoms, because they can always purchase multiple medium sized bags/drinks.

/s

[papitosabe]

so if you watch a movie in new York, you have to get up like 3 or 4 times throughout the movie to get refills on your drinks?? Laaaame

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/18774940/health-panel-talks-about-wider-food-ban



I can't believe this crap happens in America.


lol. We could all see where this was going. This was easier to predict than the seat belt nonsense, by far.

[Danan]

I would be against this stupid soda regulation even if I believed it worked. But I don't even buy that.

Human beings don't just swallow up everything they get access to. There is a certain amount of calories you are going to burn any given day, based on hormonal activities, past activities, the temperature, the amount of stress you're experiencing and so on.

Now even if this ban could reduce the amount of coke you drink when you're watching a movie, you would just have a greater desire to eat something later that day. And ultimately you're going to indulge that desire anyway. And even if you could resist it for a while your body would go in starvation-panic-mode and want you to store fat.

[aGameOfThrones]

http://asianconservatives.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Bloomberg-NYC-Soft-Drink-Ban.jpg

[Pericles]

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.C. S. Lewis

[oyarde]

Popcorn Nazis ..........

[Occam's Banana]

But what could the rationale be for limiting popcorn sizes? Are there people who go to the movies every single day who order large popcorn? Even though I order the largest popcorn every time I go to the movies, I don't go frequently enough for it to impact my overall health. Popcorn calories probably account for 0.5% of my yearly calorie intake. If you're gonna be a health nazi, aren't there more useful things to go after?

Soda at least sort of makes sense because a huge amount of people drink it every day and one of the most frequently purchased sizes is 20oz. Popcorn and milkshakes seem more like guilty treats rather than part of people's daily habit.

The answer to your question is simple: POWER. At its root, this issue has absolutely NOTHING to do with "health" or "obesity" or any such thing. It is all about claiming and exercising POWER - nothing more, nothing less.

Grandiose power-mongers seek to control armies, nation-states & the course of history itself. More petty & prosaic power-mongers (like Bloomberg & Co., who don't have the chops to "run with the big dogs" - or don't have the opportunity to do so) seek to feed their desire for control by (among other tactics) concocting excuses that enable them to dismiss their critics as insufficiently "compassionate." ("What? You oppose regulation of soda/popcorn/whatever? Don't you care about peoples' health? You heartless bastard!")

This is a fig leaf that leaves them free to seek to indulge their lust for power without actually having to provide any legitimate rationale for it (which is very important to their purpose - since there IS no legitimate rationale for it). It is therefore pointless to try to discover the "rationale" for their proposals in hopes of understanding the logic by which they arrive at them. Their proposals are not based on logic - they are based on power-lust.

To put it crudely (but accurately): their alleged "concern" over things like "obesity" and "public health" is merely the lotion they use while masturbating their hard-on for bossing other people around.

[buck000]

Jon Stewart had some great pieces on this moronic legislation...

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-31-2012/drink-different
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-31-2012/drink-different---pick-your-poison

[pintbottlepress]

Obviously libertarians think this is a terrible idea, but I even think that most people in America think this much overreach is bonkers. And when I say most, I mean cops too. And, at some point one of these business owners will get fed up and refuse to comply with these mandates, at which point the authorities will face a critical decision. Do I, as a cop, blindly follow the law and arrest this citizen for selling popcorn? Or, do I, as an individual, think that this law is so damn stupid and wrong-headed that I refuse to enforce it? Do I want to be an instrument of a tyrannical system that I disagree with while living in a so-called free country? Do I want to be the kind of cop who jails people for milkshakes? Will I act on my conscience or will I serve as just another mindless cog in the machine? Government can only enforce its will through force. So, will there come a day when someone in New York gets shot by a cop for refusing to drop their Slurpee?

[Roxi]

Actually, we should just forgo all this banning and just ban everything.

The only thing people should be allowed to eat or drink is water, and freeze dried beans and tofu in pill form, plus Monsanto fruits and vegetables.

Everything else should be banned. Especially chocolate.

:toady:

[Noob]

Food rationing is the real reason I can think of why they are doing this.

[AGRP]

I can't wait to read about swat teams raiding dinners over selling 20 oz. sodas.

[Brian4Liberty]

New York City Board of Health

When you create a "Board of Health", what will they do with their time and power?

[Brian4Liberty]

The sad thing is, they are attacking true Capitalism. The way a movie theater makes it's money is by the concession stand sales.


Not to change the subject, but they don't make enough money to stay in business charging $15/person to see the movie? Methinks a competitive market is not functioning here.

[Cowlesy]

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.C. S. Lewis

Well, that basically sums it up right there.

[dannno]

My husband comes from a long line of New Yorkers, and he's just amazed how far the old New York attitude has fallen.


I love sandwiches. Sandwiches are easy to eat, but I hate sandwiches at New York delis; too much fuckin' meat on the sandwich. It's like a cow with a cracker on either side. Walk in, order a pastrami sandwich. "Alright, anything else?" Yeah, a loaf of bread and some other people!

-RIP Mitch Hedberg

[cajuncocoa]

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.C. S. LewisI love this quote... I recently belonged to a (now-defunct) message board that was inhabited with mostly liberals/progressives ... Carlybee and I being among the few voices for Ron Paul and liberty, and taking LOTS of arrows for him. I always thought it was ironic that one of the nanny-state progressives used to have this C.S.Lewis quote in her sig line. Go figure.

[Lucille]

NYC tough guys? Hardly! Biggest pussy cats in the country.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvWGZpu_TXw

"Tough guys, aren't ya?! You f'n stand around like f'n bitches smoking outside, they tell you what you can put in your food, what you can eat, where to dance, where to walk, "I can't use my cell phone behind the wheel of my car...I'm a tough MFer." Before you advertise how tough you are, you might want to go into the bathroom and douche some of Bloomberg's [I'd better not. LOL Watch it and find out yourself.] because it seems to me you are just little bitches to city hall..."

[Victor Grey]

Obviously libertarians think this is a terrible idea, but I even think that most people in America think this much overreach is bonkers. And when I say most, I mean cops too. And, at some point one of these business owners will get fed up and refuse to comply with these mandates, at which point the authorities will face a critical decision. Do I, as a cop, blindly follow the law and arrest this citizen for selling popcorn? Or, do I, as an individual, think that this law is so damn stupid and wrong-headed that I refuse to enforce it? Do I want to be an instrument of a tyrannical system that I disagree with while living in a so-called free country? Do I want to be the kind of cop who jails people for milkshakes? Will I act on my conscience or will I serve as just another mindless cog in the machine? Government can only enforce its will through force. So, will there come a day when someone in New York gets shot by a cop for refusing to drop their Slurpee?

Depends on what you mean pintbottlepress.

If you mean, do I think most or at least many, of your regular leo is going to break out handcuffs if he sees a large food box full of popcorn, even if he recalled that isn't technically legal? No I don't think so. Not all of them, the amount I wouldn't know to guess.

If you mean, that if some related group or agency which is a portion of all total enforcement, and is tasked or in part tasked with wasting our money going around and finding this stuff, would he participate in a raid or use the cuffs with little more provocation than a point in a direction, even if it's against his own conscience because of the consequences of not? Yes I do think so. Naturally, if they're going to make the law, somebody's going to be around to try enforcing it.

We got a nation that is full of sheriffs with no backbone, in my opinion, and I feel that's a big part of the problem. If they'd just say "no", that would be very helpful to cut this stuff out. Would be 100 times more helpful than those under him bucking the system.

[Xhin]

Government: Give em an inch and they'll take a mile

[John F Kennedy III]

Better start practicing your goose step.

[pintbottlepress]

Depends on what you mean pintbottlepress.

If you mean, do I think most or at least many, of your regular leo is going to break out handcuffs if he sees a large food box full of popcorn, even if he recalled that isn't technically legal? No I don't think so. Not all of them, the amount I wouldn't know to guess.

If you mean, that if some related group or agency which is a portion of all total enforcement, and is tasked or in part tasked with wasting our money going around and finding this stuff, would he participate in a raid or use the cuffs with little more provocation than a point in a direction, even if it's against his own conscience because of the consequences of not? Yes I do think so. Naturally, if they're going to make the law, somebody's going to be around to try enforcing it.

We got a nation that is full of sheriffs with no backbone, in my opinion, and I feel that's a big part of the problem. If they'd just say "no", that would be very helpful to cut this stuff out. Would be 100 times more helpful than those under him bucking the system.

I take your point. I guess I'm taking for granted that everyone values their freedom, authorities included, yet the public at large seems more and more comfortable with quietly rolling over when freedoms are taken away. And I'm wondering at what point will the authorities, who themselves value freedom and are tasked with enforcing these draconian laws, reach the point of cognitive dissonance where they reflect and say, "You know what? What I'm enforcing here is wrong, and I refuse to do it anymore." I wonder when that will happen, or if that will happen. And if it ultimately doesn't happen, then when does this crap end? If there's not some major blowback from a large faction of society, then we'll just lose more and more control of our lives. And if it doesn't end, then it seems we're on a one-way road to tyranny.

[Endgame]

The government created the obesity and chronic disease epidemic through its nutritional recommendations, agricultural subsidies and its other interactions with the agriculture and food processing industries. Trying to ban the garbage the manipulated market has filled the shelves with is just going to fuck things up horribly. How long till someone gets shot over the black market that will arise to give the fructose addicts their fix?

[RickyJ]

I will take 12 popcorns and 12 cokes please. (About the equivalent of 3 large cokes and 3 large popcorns for about 36 bucks.)

That will be one hundred and twenty dollars.

Say what?

[devil21]

Two thoughts. First, limiting sizes of anything consumable means people will lose their purchasing power since the larger something is, the cheaper it is per unit. Basic economics. NY raises more tax revenues by making someone buy two of an item at a higher price instead of a single at a cheaper unit price. They don't really expect people to not drink as much soda as they want to just because of this law. Second, it looks like Agenda 21 testbed material to see how much push back the rulers get when trying to control people's consumption habits in densely populated areas. An earlier poster's comment about public health costs also rings true. Probably in the same vein as all the anti-smoking commercials Ive been seeing....brb, gotta put this cigarette out.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

Just wait until Obamacare.

[Pauls' Revere]

nobody will give a shit until they ban what size and type of Starbucks coffee flavored drink you order. Then, and only then will people wake up.

[devil21]

nobody will give a shit until they ban what size and type of Starbucks coffee flavored drink you order. Then, and only then will people wake up.

Or will they stay asleep from lack of coffee and soda caffeine? /badabing

[tttppp]

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/18774940/health-panel-talks-about-wider-food-ban



I can't believe this crap happens in America.

There's nothing wrong with popcorn. What is bad for you is all the butter customers dump on their popcorn. This would absolutely be a pointless law.

As I said before, state and local governments usually are not any less corrupt and better run than the federal government. I see no reason to keep state and local governments. All they are is unnecessary bureaucracy and regulation.

[Revolution9]

There's nothing wrong with popcorn. What is bad for you is all the butter customers dump on their popcorn. This would absolutely be a pointless law.

As I said before, state and local governments usually are not any less corrupt and better run than the federal government. I see no reason to keep state and local governments. All they are is unnecessary bureaucracy and regulation.

It's not butter. They put seed oils with flavoring..bad stuff. If popped in coconut oil with real butter and sea salt it is healthy stuff.

Rev9

[Pauls' Revere]

Or will they stay asleep from lack of coffee and soda caffeine? /badabing

Your right....

[alucard13mmfmj]

as long as he does not go after porn.. should be good. lol.

[tttppp]

It's not butter. They put seed oils with flavoring..bad stuff. If popped in coconut oil with real butter and sea salt it is healthy stuff.

Rev9

The seasoning is bad too, but there is only a small amount of it compared to the butter. Popcorn should be cooked in a little to no amount of oil with minimal salt. No butter, no fake seasoning, no motor oil.

[LibForestPaul]

When healthcare becomes a public expense this is what happens.
i <3 bloomberg. he is the epitome of progressive communist. he is doing more for libertarian movement in NY than any other politician. hope he gets re-elected, burn baby burn...you have no idea what his administration is doing to the city's departments, authorities, taxes.

[donnay]

Not to change the subject, but they don't make enough money to stay in business charging $15/person to see the movie? Methinks a competitive market is not functioning here.

The Need for Concessions

There are two ways for a theater to lease a movie:

Bidding
Percentage

Bidding requires that the theater agree to pay a fixed amount for the right to show the movie. For example, a theater might bid $100,000 for a four-week engagement of a new movie. During that time, it could make $125,000 for a profit of $25,000. Or it might take in only $75,000, which means the theater has a loss of $25,000. Few distribution companies use bidding anymore. Most agreements are for a percentage of the box office (ticket sales).

In this sort of deal, the distributor and the theater agree to several terms:

The theater negotiates the amount of the house allowance, or nut, with the distributor. This is a set figure to cover basic expenses each week.
The percentage split for the net box office is set. This is the amount of box office left after the deduction of the house allowance.
The percentage split for the gross box office is set.
The length of engagement is set (typically four weeks).

The distributor will get the vast majority of the money made by the movie. The agreement gives the distributor the agreed-upon percentage of the net box office or gross box office, whichever is greater. The way this works is amazing!

Consider this example. Theater A is negotiating with Distributor B over a new movie. The theater has figured that expenses, the nut, are about $4,500 per week. The net percentage to go to the distributor is set at 95 percent for the first two weeks, 90 percent for week three and 85 percent for the final week. The gross percentage to go to the distributor is set at 70 percent for the first two weeks, 60 percent for week three and 50 percent for the final week.

You can see that during weeks one, two and three, the gross percentage is higher. The net percentage is higher for week four. So the distributor would take gross percentage on one through three then net for week four. The theater breaks even the first week, loses money the second and makes a profit on weeks three and four.

The movie itself is considered a loss leader by the theater owner: It is meant to get people into the theater. The theater makes its money selling refreshments to the movie audience. That's why concessions are so expensive -- without the profits generated by things like popcorn and soda, most theaters could not afford to stay in business.

At the end of the negotiated engagement, the theater pays the distributor its share of the box office earnings and returns the print. If a movie is very popular and can continue to draw a steady crowd, the theater may renegotiate to extend the lease agreement. Any time you see the phrase "Held over," you know that the theater has extended the movie lease.

While first run movies that have just been released are loss leaders, movies that have been out for a while can be profitable for the theaters that show them. Second run theaters often get very attractive leasing terms from the distributor. These theaters are facing increasing competition though, as first run theaters continue to show more movies past the traditional four to six week time frame.

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-distribution2.htm

[TheGrinch]

Hmmm, very interesting donnay.

I didn't realize that it worked that similarly to a gas station, where you'd be amazed how little revenue comes from gas itself. If it weren't for competition and consumer convenience, it's really not in their interest at all for you to pay at the pump with a credit card.

[Kluge]

People buy popcorn at the theater?

[tttppp]

The Need for Concessions

There are two ways for a theater to lease a movie:

Bidding
Percentage

Bidding requires that the theater agree to pay a fixed amount for the right to show the movie. For example, a theater might bid $100,000 for a four-week engagement of a new movie. During that time, it could make $125,000 for a profit of $25,000. Or it might take in only $75,000, which means the theater has a loss of $25,000. Few distribution companies use bidding anymore. Most agreements are for a percentage of the box office (ticket sales).

In this sort of deal, the distributor and the theater agree to several terms:

The theater negotiates the amount of the house allowance, or nut, with the distributor. This is a set figure to cover basic expenses each week.
The percentage split for the net box office is set. This is the amount of box office left after the deduction of the house allowance.
The percentage split for the gross box office is set.
The length of engagement is set (typically four weeks).

The distributor will get the vast majority of the money made by the movie. The agreement gives the distributor the agreed-upon percentage of the net box office or gross box office, whichever is greater. The way this works is amazing!

Consider this example. Theater A is negotiating with Distributor B over a new movie. The theater has figured that expenses, the nut, are about $4,500 per week. The net percentage to go to the distributor is set at 95 percent for the first two weeks, 90 percent for week three and 85 percent for the final week. The gross percentage to go to the distributor is set at 70 percent for the first two weeks, 60 percent for week three and 50 percent for the final week.

You can see that during weeks one, two and three, the gross percentage is higher. The net percentage is higher for week four. So the distributor would take gross percentage on one through three then net for week four. The theater breaks even the first week, loses money the second and makes a profit on weeks three and four.

The movie itself is considered a loss leader by the theater owner: It is meant to get people into the theater. The theater makes its money selling refreshments to the movie audience. That's why concessions are so expensive -- without the profits generated by things like popcorn and soda, most theaters could not afford to stay in business.

At the end of the negotiated engagement, the theater pays the distributor its share of the box office earnings and returns the print. If a movie is very popular and can continue to draw a steady crowd, the theater may renegotiate to extend the lease agreement. Any time you see the phrase "Held over," you know that the theater has extended the movie lease.

While first run movies that have just been released are loss leaders, movies that have been out for a while can be profitable for the theaters that show them. Second run theaters often get very attractive leasing terms from the distributor. These theaters are facing increasing competition though, as first run theaters continue to show more movies past the traditional four to six week time frame.

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-distribution2.htm

I used to work at a movie theater and thats accurate. The money is made off of popcorn and soda. Popcorn is basically pure profit. They make ridiculous profit margins on popcorn.

[rockerrockstar]

Stupid law. I can see trying to limit things for kids but for Adults we can make our own choices.

[tttppp]

Also, its clear Bloomberg has never worked at a movie theater before. The majority of people who buy the biggest size of popcorn, share it with the people they are going to the movie with. They buy the largest size because it is a better value than buying multiple smaller sized popcorns.

[kcchiefs6465]

Maybe we could get a good national ad campaign out of all this publicity. Instead of stomas popping up when I am trying to eat, let's have something that's sure to change Americans' habits; open-heart surgery. You heard right folks, to off-set the rising costs in medical care, we should spend a couple million more on ads to warn people about the harmful effects of their habits./s

In all seriousness, at least he still supports donuts. Probably didn't want to piss off his base.

[SpicyTurkey]

History is our teacher, and experience is our mentor, but fuck that, the government knows best.

[Liberty74]

So how do we start limiting politicians and their stupidity?

Obviously voting does not work when all these scumbags lie and receive bribes to get elected. :p

[TheBlackPeterSchiff]

Bloomberg, 2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!1


/sarcasmoff

[kcchiefs6465]

So how do we start limiting politicians and their stupidity?

Obviously voting does not work when all these scumbags lie and receive bribes to get elected. :p
Eugenics? /s
I have no answer for this. Swift tongued snakes at best. Maybe if the sheep would stray from the shepherd long enough to hear the message of liberty........................................... . :(

[Lothario]

It doesn't. This is not America.

America is a fiction that never was. We're just individual people who live around here, just as it's always been.

[DamianTV]

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/18774940/health-panel-talks-about-wider-food-ban



I can't believe this crap happens in America.

America is dead. The name remains the same, but the spirit has been murdered. The minds of so many have been tainted, and hearts corrupted. But not all is lost. What we should be doing is forcing the people that come up with all of these ridiculus rules to endure the same obedience they expect of us.

[angelatc]

My husband is convinced that the real New Yorkers have all been replaced by pod people.