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To: Mark Adams who wrote (46518)	2/21/2004 5:00:10 PM
From: Mark Adams	Respond to of 74559

The 10% bracket expansion cited by Bush nets appx $100 incremental taxes savings on $1000 gross income for the single filer. Married filers appear to save $200 on $2000. The $300 'typical' tax savings cited in some press is offset by a nearly 11% increase in Food and Fuel expenses. While a small portion of total household expenses, a 10% increase in a $150 per month food budget annualizes to $15*12 or $180. An additional $24 per year for increased direct auto fuel costs, and you've effectively eroded 2/3rds the 'windfall' for middle class and lower citizens. This suggests to me that the party line on the tax cuts falls flat on close inspection, merely offsetting non discretionary cost increases for the typical household. hrblock.com

To: Mark Adams who wrote (46518)	2/21/2004 5:41:30 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Mark, 6 cents a pound is an important figure. That sets the maximum price which oil can go to. People in the Doomsters and Gloomster stream here have worried about oil running out and the doomsday scenario of USA SUVs coming to a halt. 12c a kilogram = 12c a litre [near enough]. Gasoline is 100c a US gallon = 25c a litre [near enough]. That's twice the price. It's true that sugar needs a little bit of processing to make it into vehicle fuel, but not much. It could be made into ethanol without much problem which would be excellent fuel cell fuel. The sun isn't going out any time soon, so the sugar supply isn't limited. There are vast tracts of land which can be converted to sugar production and that would increase the price somewhat as irrigation would be needed and other marginal land costs, but I doubt it would be a big deal. So although sugar isn't cheap enough to displace petrol or diesel as fuel, it's not a long way away. Mqurice

To: Mark Adams who wrote (46518)	4/6/2004 2:22:31 PM
From: Mark Adams	Respond to of 74559

Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity Obesity is a major epidemic, but its causes are still unclear. In this article, we investigate the relation between the intake of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and the development of obesity. We analyzed food consumption patterns by using US Department of Agriculture food consumption tables from 1967 to 2000. The consumption of HFCS increased > 1000% between 1970 and 1990, far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group. HFCS now represents > 40% of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the United States. Our most conservative estimate of the consumption of HFCS indicates a daily average of 132 kcal for all Americans aged 2 y, and the top 20% of consumers of caloric sweeteners ingest 316 kcal from HFCS/d. The increased use of HFCS in the United States mirrors the rapid increase in obesity. The digestion, absorption, and metabolism of fructose differ from those of glucose. Hepatic metabolism of fructose favors de novo lipogenesis. In addition, unlike glucose, fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion or enhance leptin production. Because insulin and leptin act as key afferent signals in the regulation of food intake and body weight, this suggests that dietary fructose may contribute to increased energy intake and weight gain. Furthermore, calorically sweetened beverages may enhance caloric overconsumption. Thus, the increase in consumption of HFCS has a temporal relation to the epidemic of obesity, and the overconsumption of HFCS in calorically sweetened beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity. ajcn.org