Taxation: Interpreting the Constitution

Mapua, Jeff. Taxation: Interpreting the Constitution. Part of the Understanding the United States Constitution series. 2015. 112p. ISBN 978-1-47777-504-2. Available at 343. 73 MAP on the library shelves.

Benjamin Franklin famously once claimed that there were only two things that were for certain in life: Death and taxes. The history of taxes in the United States is a long one, and led to the creation of the country. During colonization, all funding to operate military personnel was provided by the British Parliament and the King, but as wars drained the treasury, the King sought to replenish his coffers by imposing taxes on the colonists so they finance their own defence. Colonists opposed these demands under the claim that since they were not represented in Parliament they should not be taxed, and eventually called for independence.

Having secured peace, the new fledgling government sought to fund itself through various import tariffs and taxes on various products. Several tax rebellions took place and eventually led to the abandonment of the Articles of Confederation and instead a new Constitution was created which allowed for the direct taxation of individuals and corporations.

Various World Wars, recessions, and other events forced the adoption of wider tax schemes. Today, taxes remain as contentious as they were over two hundred years ago, with heated conversations about the role of government and how much, or how little, taxes should be raised to pay for services voters want.

This book does an excellent job of summarizing two centuries of debates central to the country’s operation. The information is presented in everyday language. Many of the Supreme Court’s decisions on taxes are reviewed and analyzed for their impact on the government’s ability to raise funds through taxes. Finally, the future of taxes on the Internet is speculated. Those interested in this discussion will appreciate the overview and coverage taxes are provided in thsi book.

Teen Guide to Credit and Debt

Blohm, Craig E. Teen Guide to Credit and Debt. Part of the Teen Guide to Finance$ series. 2017. 64p. ISBN 978-1-68262-060-3. Available at 332.74 BLO on the library shelves.

Recent surveys show that 1 in 4 teens do not know what an overdraft fee is or where it takes place, and nearly 1 in 20 teens believe they do not have to pay back credit card debt. With the economy roaring back, teens increasingly have more disposable income and are working harder. However, college spending keeps increasing, and most teens will incur a heavy load of student loans before they even graduate. More frightening, many teens do not understand how credit works. This book aims to remedy that fact by presenting information on credit and how it is used in the life of teens.

A valuable tool for a stable financial life, credit helps people purchase big ticket items such as homes, cars, and college. However, misusing credit can lead to severe consequences including ever mounting debt, a ruined credit score, and even bankruptcy. Learning about how to use and manage one’s credit is one of the most important skills that any teenager will ever have, and this book does an excellent job of covering the positive and negative aspects of credit.

The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor

Schatzker, Mark. The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor. 2015. 259p. 498 mins. ISBN 9781476724218. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Older people often complain that the food they eat is bland and doesn’t taste like the food they used to eat when they were children. For the most part, they are right. Over the last one hundred years, humans have managed to tremendously increase the yield of food. Crops now produce five, ten, or sometimes twenty times the amount of food they did a few decades ago. Thanks to the green revolution, we are able to feed an ever increasing population. However, it comes with costs.

Eating chicken used to be an expensive proposition, but industrial processes now make chicken fatter quicker, all the while keeping the price cheap. However, much like the crops we eat, what has been lost in this industrialization and standardization is the taste these foods developed as they aged. To compensate for this, food companies developed flavoring compounds to ensure that the taste of any given product could be enhanced. The birth of the Dorito chip is symptomatic of this process. A perfectly good crunchy corn chip was made to taste like an entire taco, thus opening supermarket doors to this new product. But in the process our brains became tricked by these new flavors that are not related to the taste of the food.

In this book the author explores a growing gap between how the food taste (better and better) and the nutritional value it has (worse and worse). For examples, blueberry waffles in the frozen section of the grocery store contain no blueberries, yet the consumer is baited and switched to a product that taste just like blueberries, without the nutritional value of actually eating blueberries. Societies worldwide are experiencing this phenomena, which leads to higher rates of obesity and diseases.

Other countries have taken measures to address these issues, by banning flavoring, and by consumers being aware of the products they buy. Chicken is more flavorful in France because poultry is not grown on an industrial scale and is given more time to mature and acquire a taste. Italian pasta and heirloom vegetables continue to be the pride of specific regions and are jealously protected.

It is up to us, the consumer, to demand better tasting food grown through natural processes, and not enhanced by a flavor industry diminishing the nutritional value of food. Pair this book with The Omnivore’s Dilemma for a depressing yet hopeful overview of the whole food industry in the United States.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Kamkwamba, William and Bryan Mealer. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. 2009. 273p. ISBN 0-06-173032-7. Available at B KAM on the library shelves.

Located in the southeastern part of Africa, Malawi is a relatively poor country. William Kamkwamba’s parents were poor farmers who struggled to make ends meet, but when a famine struck their country they could no longer afford to send William to school. Always eager to learn, William decided to go to the local library instead. There he read a book that changed his life. Titled Using Energy, this book gave William a great idea: Why not build a wind generator to create electricity for his house?

Working hard and scrounging parts throughout the area, William was able in 2002 to erect his own power-generating windmill, and suddenly his family was the only one in the village to have electric light at night. With this plentiful power William could recharge phones and radios, and started making money. Using the same principles, he build a water pump for his mother so she wouldn’t have to make the long round trip every day carrying cans of water.

Though his neighbors all thought he was crazy, William’s dedication and drive to succeed helped him earn international fame through a TED talk and scholarship opportunities to study, first in Malawi, then at Dartmouth College. It also improved the lives of his village’s residents, and proved that it is possible to find solutions to problems that appear intractable.

The Great Recession

Riggs, Kate. The Great Recession. Part of the Turning Points series. 2017. 48p. ISBN 978-1-60818-749-2. Available at 330.97 RIG on the library shelves.

The worst economic downturn since the Great Depression officially took place from December 2007 to June 2009, but the effects of what became known as the Great Recession continued for much longer and, some could argue, are still being felt by many. What started as exuberance in the housing market ended with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the collapse of stock prices throughout the world.

Low interest rates and easy credits were at the root of the Great Recession. Low interest rates led to low mortgage rates, and these in turn enticed people who before could not have afforded a house to enter the market and purchase one through what became known as a subprime mortgage. For almost a decade house prices continuously rose, so that though a buyer purchased a house with little to no money, that individual could turn around a year or two later and sell it for a profit. However, by 2007 house prices were no longer rising.

In the past this drop in the housing value nationwide would not have affected the rest of the market, but banks had cleverly wrapped subprime mortgages into bonds that were then sold. With rising values, there was no problems in repaying the bondholders. But that drop in value caused the bonds to lose their own value, and suddenly banks and institutions that held these instruments saw their balance sheets turn red.

The Federal Government had to massively intervene in the marketplace to restore confidence, but it had to do so by bailing big banks and rich folks, something that the average American did not like. As the economy continued to contract, companies laid off workers, house values plummeted, and stocks devalued, causing even more pain. By the time the Great Recession was done, the richest folks had seen an increase in their wealth, while middle class Americans had seen a huge decline.

The economic calamity of our time, the aftermath of the Great Recession continues to affect individuals and companies, and many people who entered the workplace during the Great Recession will never be as comfortable financially as their parents, something that has not happened before.

Beijing

Pellegrini, Nancy. Beijing. Part of the Global Cities series. 2007. 60p. ISBN 978-0-7910-8848-0. Available on the library shelves at 951 PEL.

The second most populous city in China, Beijing is also the country’s capital. With over 12 million people, Beijing’s population has exploded in the last quarter century, which has brought both challenges and success stories. The capital on and off for over a thousand years, Beijing lies in an arid plain not far away from mountains. It sat at the intersection of major trade routes and was protected by the Great Wall. With the economic liberation that followed the death of Mao, the country’s standard of living as increased and residents of cities have benefited the most. Hundred of millions of peasants have flocked to cities, and Beijing has seen more of its share.

An increase in population brings more economic opportunities, but also severe environmental and infrastructure costs for a city spreading faster than what is sustainable. Major projects such as canals to bring water, high speed trains, metros, highways, and pollution control are all designed to help the capital grow while ensuring that the basic needs of citizens are taken care off. As old Beijing is being demolished to make way for a new Beijing, tensions between those who are rich and those who aren’t are growing, and the local government will have to manage what has been unbridled growth.

The omnivore's dilemma : a natural history of four meals

Pollan, Michael. The omnivore's dilemma : a natural history of four meals. 2006. 451p. ISBN 1-59420-082-3. Available on the library shelves at 394.1 POL.

When you go to a supermarket to buy food, the variety can be overwhelming. Each grocery store has on average over 100,000 different items available to satisfy any craving you might have. Unfortunately, variety of food does not mean a diversity of ingredients. In fact, Pollan argues that corn in all its forms has grown to occupy a central place in the American diet, both in its most well-known form, corn on the cob, but also as a sweet syrup, as filler and food for animals we in turn eat, as fuel to process and transport goods to market, and in a myriad of other industrial uses. Our diet has mainly become made up of corn and its derivatives.

In this provocative book, Pollan explores the disproportionate impact on the American diet, the American farm, and the American economy that corn has. From factoring farming to inhumane slaughterhouses, Pollan describes how corn and Second World War policies came to shape our current food supply and tastes. Using for basis four meals, from the industrial to the organic to the hunter-gatherer style, Pollan discusses what happens to his food from the moment it is planted to the time it arrives on his plate, and everything in between.

This book may change your mind about how and what you eat. And even if it doesn’t, at least you will understand how our food industry has so fundamentally transformed what and how we eat that our ancestors from even a hundred years ago would be hard pressed to recognize what it is a typical American meal today. Pollan literally provides food for thought on a subject most of us know next to nothing about.