Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Porto Cordovero Ruby Port
Kosher Wines on line ordering
Mevushal: No
Alc/Vol: 20%
Size: 750 ml
Region: Portugal
Type: Port
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend
Supervision: OU
General Information
This fine ruby port was blended from a selection of the finest wines produced in the upper Douro Valley from properties of Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman. Fully matured in wood, it is ready to drink immediately and requires no further aging in bottle.
Kosher For Passover
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Is there really a Jewish Tax on Food?
The answer is NO.
So, where does the idea of a Jewish Tax on Food come from?
Let's look at the word tax and what it means. In the broad sense any time you spend money it is a tax on your capital, but more importantly the correct word should be expense. Why use the word tax? Just like the Boston Tea Party, the word tax is being used to incite anger and hatred. Why are those Jews putting a tax on my food! The point is the correct word is expense and the use of tax is a loaded word to incite negative feelings.
If a kosher symbol is a tax -- then you would have to apply this broad definition to everything that is an expense. From the can or bottle used to package the product, to the employees that make the product -- to any donation the company makes to charity. Even the electricity and water they used would be a tax. These companies are being taxed to death so they only make 2% to 30% profit.
Why would a Food Company incur an Expense?
Food companies advertise and that is an expense for the purpose of finding new and repeat business. That is a good thing. Advertising for new and repeat business is good for the customers because it can mean more information to the public and lower prices. A kosher label is a form of direct advertising telling the customer this food is kosher and meets biblical standards in how it was prepared and what foods are used. This too is a good thing, because food companies [1] wouldn't do this if it didn't make business sense and mean an increase in profit.
Money food companies pay to the United States government -- is really a tax in which they have no choice....
A tax is forced on you. A kosher label is a business decision made by the free will of the person in charge of making this decision. When the government taxes you don't have a choice. A food business has to listen to the FDA and other government agencies or risk fines and being shut down. However on the other hand, a business has a choice on whether or not to use a kosher label, and can terminate this relationship at their pleasure.
Business Decisions
Consider NASC car, sports, and charity, they all have sponsors who pay money to support the event. Does that mean the sponsor loves cars, sports or the charity it sponsors? Obviously the answer is not always. For the most, feeling has nothing to do with it -- it has to do with a business decision that best fits their company. So, why would a food company want to put a kosher label on a food product? Because they know it is good for business because a certain percent of people do want kosher food. This makes money for the food company and is a good for the customers -- it is a win - win situation.
I guess taxes are a good thing, we have schools and roads that are paved, and we have police and all those things that taxes provide. But one thing a kosher label isn't -- it isn't is a tax. It is purely a business decision to make money for the food company; to make sure they stay in business and provide for their employees. And maybe sometimes a kosher label is used by a company because it is the right thing to do.
What is involved with make a product kosher? Rules and lots of them. Some are simple and some are complex and some meaning you have to be an expert in food chemistry. NO the Rabbi doesn't bless the food or clap his hands so it magically becomes kosher. It means inspection of every detail of the food plant from the products and machinery used. And once a place is certified kosher making sure it stays that way day in and day out. In some areas this may be more involved than an FDA inspection.
Those spouting about a Jewish tax on food are consumed by hatred and want to incite others to feel the same way.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Expense
n.
1. Something spent to attain a goal or accomplish a purpose: an expense of time and energy on the project.
2. A loss for the sake of something gained; a sacrifice: achieved speed at the expense of accuracy.
2. An expenditure of money; a cost: an improvement that was well worth the expense; a trip with all expenses paid.
3. expenses
1. Charges incurred by an employee in the performance of work: was reimbursed for her travel expenses.
2. Informal. Money allotted for payment of such charges.
4. Something requiring the expenditure of money: Redecorating the house will be a considerable expense.
Tax
n.
1. A contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses within the domain of that government.
2. A fee or dues levied on the members of an organization to meet its expenses.
3. A burdensome or excessive demand; a strain.
tr.v., taxed, tax·ing, tax·es.
1. To place a tax on (income, property, or goods).
2. To exact a tax from.
3. Law. To assess (court costs, for example).
4. To make difficult or excessive demands upon: a boss who taxed everyone's patience.
5. To make a charge against; accuse: He was taxed with failure to appear on the day appointed.
Tax
Rate or sum of money assessed on a citizen's person, property, or activity for the support of government, levied upon assets or real property, upon income, or upon the sale or purchase of goods. Examples include Ad Valorem Tax, Excise Tax, Income Tax, Property Tax, Sales Tax, Estate Tax, school tax, and Use Tax.
The first US income tax was signed into law by President Lincoln in 1861 to help pay Civil War expenses. It was later repealed and ruled unconstitutional. In 1913, with World War I on the horizon, Congress passed an amendment to the Constitution, allowing a new income tax to be enacted — and it has been with us ever since, in some form or another. The rates often change, and historically they have peaked in times of war, reaching a lofty all-time high of 94% at the end of World War II.
Taxes now provide revenue for a much broader range of services, from that smooth new highway you take to work to the ceramics program in your kid's public school. Taxes also fund parks, police, courts, libraries, health and welfare programs, and social services. These get paid for by you, the taxpayer — and when a new service is proposed, you can decide for yourself if you think it's worth the money coming out of your paycheck. And you have the opportunity to voice this decision when you vote.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
The Competive Edge
Why would a Food Company incur an Expense?
Simple put Kosher Certification is expenses that can only be justified if it has a rate of return exceeds the expense. Companies do this in the hope the expense can be justified to sway people to buy their product over other brands. Nor would a food company price them out of the market.
Furthermore, it's been reported that while retail food sales grew at about 6% in 2006, kosher food sales grew 15%. Source Egg Solution E-News April 2007
Supply and Demand.
In economics, supply and demand describe market relations between prospective sellers and buyers of a good. The supply and demand model determines price and quantity sold in the market. The model is fundamental in microeconomics and is used to explain a variety of microeconomic scenarios, as well as a building block for many other economic models and theories. It was originally described by Antoine Augustin Cournot, and was popularized by Alfred Marshall.
The model predicts that in a competitive free market, price will function to equalize the quantity demanded by consumers and the quantity supplied by producers, resulting in an economic equilibrium.
Bottom line, food companies have board of directors that have to account to their stock holders.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Basic Information on Kosher
Note that in most current forms of Judaism (but not among all Karaites, Ethiopian Jews and some Persian Jewish communities), this even applies to the flesh of birds, not just mammals. Most observant Jewish homes maintain two sets of silverware, cookware, cups, and dishes. One is for milk (Yiddish milchig, Hebrew halavi) dishes, and one is for meat (Yiddish fleishig or fleishedik, Hebrew basari) dishes. This prevents any trace of meat or dairy from being accidentally mixed. (Foods that contain neither milk nor meat are considered "neutral" -- Yiddish pareve, modern Hebrew parve).
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Jews and Making Money
How do you support your family, plan for your monthly expenses. Pay your mortgages, buy food for your family, electricity, water and all the things you want to provide for your family.
A Rabbi doing kosher certification has a vested interest in the food company staying in business not out of greed but so he can provide for family too and provide kosher food for people to eat. The only way this happens is when it makes good business sense and makes a profit for the food company.
For those out there that think this is a kosher tax and all Jews think about is money. It is a lot easier to ask for and get a raise from a company thats making a profit than one that is bankrupt.
That you can bank on!