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5 CommentsI watch ProteanView's videos and he's the sort that brings up something that makes you think (RightOn - you'd probably like his videos). This time I learned something: Kosher "tax".
I thought (and I'm not sure why) that Kosher only applied to foods that were clearly marked as such. Even Wikipedia says it commonly refers to Jewish dietary laws.
However, as ProteanView clearly shows Kosher labels buried on the back of other products (You Tube link). Like cleaning products. From what I read these fees are passed on to the consumers as an advertising expense. I'm sure the amount passed on isn't significant per user because millions if not billions of people are paying for something that doesn't apply to them.
What are your thoughts on this? I'm sort of speechless because I didn't realize this was going on but my first thought was that I don't like it.
Scrivs
Written May. 12, 2008 / Report /
My first thought is if you are paying for it then you don't mind. I would think with food you have another way around it.
RightOn
Written May. 12, 2008 / Report /
I don't think that is the case though Scrivs... sure if I buy a gallon of gas I know that taxes are being collected on it by the state, and feds...
I doubt most people buying cleaning fluid would expect a Kosher tax to be collected on something like Clorox.
Reminds me of the "broom scandal" that shut down a grocery store in Texas when I was a kid. The owner of the store had his employees randomly charge people they knew were in a hurry for a single broom. (a simple $6 broom)
If they noticed he would acknowledge the mistake and remove the charge but MOST people didn't care to check or never noticed. The man was finally caught, but only after raking in several MILLION dollars in "broom fees".
It's the nickle and diming of useless of unassociated taxes that run people ragged and this is yet another example. (unless of course someone can explain to me why Hydrogen Peroxide and Cleaning Fluid need to be Kosher)
Tyme
Written May. 12, 2008 / Report /
See, that's the thing. I didn't know I was paying for it. Now that I do, it's a completely different story. On things like cleaning products unless the price were equal to their non-kosher counterparts I think I would opt to get the non-kosher - since I'm not "attached" to those kinds of things.
Exactly how are cleaning products made kosher? And why bury the markings on the back of a product (*K, *U, etc.) if this is something legitimate? I guess that is what is at the back of my mind. People are paying for something they don't realize they are paying for and obviously the cost is significant enough for them to pass it on to consumers.
Scrivs
Written May. 12, 2008 / Report /
Well are we supposed to check everything we buy to see if it is kosher? Sounds like a gimmick to simply get us on board to pay more money. I'm not sure it is worth the effort to continuously check to see if something is kosher or not for a couple more cents. I do agree it is stupid as hell, but what business isn't?
Ozone42
Written May. 13, 2008 / Report /
My my. I didn't know of this one either. It's completely deceitful and unethical. Now, if a product's goal is to be kosher, then great. No problems. No problems with them charging extra for it even. But it seems like these are cases much like the broom fee listed above. Companies are throwing in a surcharge for something most people neither need, nor want.
It really seems like an excuse to jack the price up. In reality, I don't care if my bottle of bleach costs $5 or $5.05. I don't care if it's kosher or not. I do care if people are using silly tactics to raise the price on me. I don't care about legitimate price increases (cost of materials, demand, inflation.)
If I notice a company doing something like this, I absolutely will stop buying their product. The kicker is, who has the time to research this and really find out who is screwing you with little deceits like this?