Results tagged “consumer”

Last week Governor Paterson signed off on a new tax law requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax from consumers in New York State. Like other states, New York requires residents to pay tax on out-of-state purchases for which sales tax wasn’t collected. The big argument is over who’s responsible for collecting; the new law puts that onus vendors like Amazon, which is now fighting the bill in State Supreme Court.

Like No Impact Man before him, Brooklyn resident Scott Ballum embarked last month on a year long mission to radically examine his own patterns of consumption. He’s calling it the Consume®econnection Project, and his plan sounds simple yet exhausting:

The Mission: A year-long effort to meet the laborers and craftsmen who build what I buy – and put a human face on consumption. For every transaction, there must be a personal connection with someone along the production chain.

To that end, he road-tripped to the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Kentucky and sneaked away from the guided tour so he could personally shake hands with Jude, one of eighteen barrel-rollers at the distillery. Now Ballum can suck down unlimited Maker’s for the year with a clean conscience. He also toured the Brooklyn Brewery to meet the folks and learn more about their process – turns out only 1/3 of their beer is made in Williamsburg; the rest is brewed in Utica. (A Sixpoint tour is definitely in order.)