Interesting Links for 25-03-2012

[andrewducker]

• Frustro: The Impossible Typeface
  (tags: illusion typography design font )
• A plausible explanation for why we just started paying VAT on hot food
  (tags: food europe uk tax vat )
• When copyright holders go insane.
  (tags: wtf twighlight law copyright )
• The injustice of minimum alcohol pricing
  (tags: uk pricing alcohol )
• An efficient journal - running at a cost of $6.50 per published article
  (tags: academia research publishing )
• Republic Congressman Tells Women To Give Their Money To Democrats
  (tags: politics usa republicans feminism women )
• The law around fanfiction is murkier than I thought
  (tags: copyright writing fanfiction )
• Tory party co-treasurer sold access to the Prime Minister.
  Time to reform the lobbying system.
  (tags: UK corruption politics Conservatives )
• What you can do about the government selling access to ministers
  (tags: petition lobbying uk politics )

Comments

[camies.livejournal.com]

And minimum alcohol pricing doesn't stop the supermarkets from undercutting the price of decent beer in off licences, pubs etc.

[naath.livejournal.com]

What I don't understand is why they say that the minimum price won't affect the price of more expensive alcohol - shops generally seem to want to price the "better" stuff higher; if they have to put the cheapest stuff up by a pound then surely everything else will also go up by a pound to preserve the connection between price and quality (as determined by the shop)?

[andrewducker]

Indeed:
http://miss-s-b.dreamwidth.org/1228295.html

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

Deeply uncertain about minimum pricing. If we’re going to have minimum pricing I’d rather it was all done through the tax system so the cash generated went to funding the fall out from our drinking habits.

Unlike the post you linked to I do think we have a societal problem with alcohol.

Rather I think we have several problems with alcohol.

We have a problem with drunken violence.

We have problems with people drink driving.

Many of us drink too much and consume too many calories through drink and this leads to long term health problems.

We might drink less than we used to but I think we still drink more than is good for us. Or some of us do. We might not be as bad as the worst of Europe by but is mid-table mediocrity a great aspiration?

Whilst we socialise health care and policing I think society has some right to seek to influence behaviours.

I’m not at all sure that minimum pricing is the way to tackle any of these problems. I’m not even sure they would have a marginal effect. I’d guess it would have the most impact on drunken violence in town centres but I think pricing at proposed levels would do much to address this.

Certainly, as someone in the third category increasing the price of cheap drinks I don’t drink won’t make me drink less. Debatable about the knock on effect on other prices. Wine pricing appears to be a lottery anyway. I suspect middle class drinkers (such as I) will go bargain hunting.