The newspapers today announced the end of an era. Hostess is liquidating in bankruptcy. While I am not one of the people they interviewed, who were stocking up on Twinkies and Snowballs and assorted other cream-filled treats, I am sorry to hear this news. Something like 18,000 people are going to lose their jobs, which to me is more of an issue than the fact that I will no longer be able to buy my own rarely indulged bad habit, Funny Bones (because who doesn't like chocolate and peanut butter?).
By all accounts, Hostess was done in by a combination the rise of militant anti-junk food crusaders (ahem, Mayor Bloomberg), poor management, and a supremely ill-timed strike. The managers didn't get the job done their first round through bankruptcy, so they wound up filing twice in something like 3 years. Not good leadership, but they still got paid, because that's how Corporatism (which is not the same as capitalism) works. On the other side, the Baker's union decided to go on strike. Now, I can completely understand being angry that they're asking for another pay cut from workers who've already given up a lot, but the Teamster's (who had someone look at the company's books) agreed to the contract because the alternative was the end of Hostess. Sometimes, management isn't just bluffing. So now, instead of a steep pay cut, all those people will face a total pay cut. And only a month before the holidays.
The third leg of this tripod of oblivion is, of course, the War on Obesity, which, frankly, is getting really tedious and absurd. I'm not saying that obesity isn't an issue, both for individuals and society. I just think things are getting out of hand, and that all of these draconian moves aren't actually accomplishing very much. For instance, one of our local high schools recently announced with great fanfare that they were banning unhealthy drinks and snacks. So, no sodas, no candy, no Twinkies. But if you walk into the store, you'll see racks and racks of sports drinks. I'm a fairly active person. I've done a number of 5k runs, I've done charity walks (3 - 60 miles), and before I broke my foot I played adult league soccer, which I hope to get back to. The only time I've needed a sports drink was playing soccer full tilt in July. Some kid walking around school needs a sports drink as much as they need a soda - they're roughly equivalent in calories and you just don't need electrolytes, etc. in your normal daily life (unless you play pro sports or something).
As a kid, my mother was into whole grain bread way before it was fashionable. I wasn't allowed to eat sugary cereals, and we only had sodas in the house for parties. In addition to these good habits, my mother was also a serial yo-yo dieter who once passed out in church after eating nothing but grapefruit for a week and a half. As an adult, I think I live a fairly healthy lifestyle. I mostly cook my own food from scratch, I still eat whole-grain bread, my favorite cereal is Special K and I work out almost every day. If I want a coke, though, or some ring dings, or to eat an old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread, I'm an adult so that should be my call. After all, if I consume too many calories then I need to worry about fitting into my jeans, but there is no way for those calories to magically jump across to someone else.
Anyway, something tells me we haven't seen the last Twinkie, Ho Ho or Ring Ding but I suspect at least most of those 18,000 jobs are gone for good.
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