Josh Harkinson

Reporter

Born in Texas and based in San Francisco, Josh covers the economy, corporations, and a wide range of political issues in California and the West.

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Study: 84% of Nutrition Labels On Kids' Foods "Misleading"

—By Josh Harkinson

| Thu Jan. 20, 2011 11:32 AM PST

Labels on the front of foods marketed to children tout all sorts of nutritional benefits, from high protein and natural flavoring to heaps of fiber and vitamin C. But most of those claims are just feel-good marketing designed to mask the fact that our kids are being sold junk food. This is according to a study released yesterday by the Strategic Alliance, a California-based group of nutrition and exercise experts. It concludes that 84 percent of the nutritional claims made on the front of 58 "better for you" products were misleading; most of the products didn't even meet the basic nutrition standards set by the US Department of Agriculture and the National Academies of Science.

Among the worst offenders:

Dora the Explorer Fruit Shapes calls itself "an excellent source of vitamin C, naturally flavored, 90 calories per pouch, and gluten free." But 58 percent of its calories come from sugar.
The "Meal Facts" panel on Kid Cuisine All Star Chicken Breast Nuggets advertises "white meat chicken, excellent source of protein, no artificial colors or flavors." Yet 38 percent of its calories come from fat.
Apple Jacks touts its high fiber and low fat content, but derives 48% of its calories from

sugar—its primary ingredient.

"Without FDA regulation, instead of giving more information to parents struggling to make the best decisions for their kids, the system is deceiving them," said the study's author, nutritionist Juliet Sims. "The question is: Do food companies want to be on the side of parents and give them helpful information, or don’t they?"

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Why US Multinationals Love Currency Manipulation Almost As Much As Hu Jintao

—By Josh Harkinson

| Wed Jan. 19, 2011 12:03 PM PST

During negotiations between Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Barack Obama at the White House today, one of the biggest sticking points will be China's longstanding manipulation of its currency, which Obama has bluntly called "an irritant." The artificially cheap Chinese renminbi translates into cheap Chinese exports that have fueled a gaping $250 billion US-China trade deficit and contributed to the loss of some 2 million US jobs. This afternoon, the two presidents were joined by 14 CEOs from US multinationals such as Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and Coca-Cola. But how much backup will they give Obama on the currency issue?

Maybe not much. According to the latest annual survey (WSJ sub req'd) by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, China's main commercial hub, more than half of US companies working there said that their businesses would be harmed by a 10 percent increase in the Chinese currency's value. In other words, US companies that have already outsourced production to China—which includes a huge portion of corporate America—now fear that their profit margins will shrink if their Chinese-made "American" products become more expensive in the US.

So clearly, multinationals shouldn't be the only interests at the table. Small and midsize US businesses that actually produce all of their products here ("American" companies, in the true sense) should also be heard.

They're definitely feeling snubbed. "The Obama administration has made clear, over and over again, that its heart is with the multinationals and that it does not really think America’s domestic manufacturing base matters," said Ian Fletcher, a research fellow at the US Business and Industry Council, a Washington think tank representing small and midsize manufacturers. "But as long as the U.S. keeps leaking $500 billion a year through the trade deficit, America will continue to struggle to create jobs."

Updated at 1/19/11 at 1:36 pm Pacific

Who Killed the Assault Weapons Ban?

—By Josh Harkinson

| Wed Jan. 12, 2011 4:43 AM PST

If the Federal Assault Weapons Ban had been renewed in 2004, there's a good chance that its restriction on high-capacity gun magazines would have prevented the Tuscon shooter from killing so many people. So who's to blame for allowing this common sense law to lapse?

Certainly not the American public. During the 2004 debate on renewing the ban, the Annenberg Election Survey at the University of Pennsylvania released a poll showing that 68 percent of the public—including 57 percent of all gun owners and even 32 percent of all NRA members—wanted the ban extended.

Enacted in 1994 with the support of Ronald Reagan, the Assault Weapons Ban was politicized during the contentious 2004 presidential race. "I don't understand the philosophy that says you're making America safer when you take cops off the streets and put assault weapons back on them," John Kerry said at a rally in Missouri. Though Bush was chastised by Kerry for siding with "powerful friends in the gun lobby," he had claimed he'd sign the assault weapons ban extension if it crossed his desk.

Yet the bill never made it that far. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) dismissed the ban as "a feel good piece of legislation" and flatly told the New York Times that it would expire even if Bush made an effort to renew it. "If the president asked me, it would still be no," he said. "He knows, because we don't have the votes to pass the assault weapons ban. It will expire Monday, and that's that."

His role in ending the ban made DeLay a hero among gun nuts, who printed up bumper stickers that said, "I'm for NRA and Tom DeLay." The NRA invited DeLay to keynote its annual meeting in 2005, just as ethics investigations were ramping up against him. He took the podium and choked up slightly as he proclaimed: "I've been in elected office for 26 years, and this is the highlight of my career."

Ever since, things have certainly been downhill for the Hammer. On Monday, DeLay was sentenced to three years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Time will tell whether cohabitation with hardened criminals will temper his love for high-powered guns.

The Stranger Targets Sarah Palin

—By Josh Harkinson

| Tue Jan. 11, 2011 5:10 PM PST

The forthcoming cover from The Stranger, a quirky alt-weekly in Seattle, has an interesting take on Sarah Palin's infamous target map, which showed Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona under the targets of a gun. On The Stranger's map, Giffords is joined by John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Abraham Lincoln.

10 Mass Shootings With High-Capacity Gun Clips

—By Josh Harkinson

| Tue Jan. 11, 2011 1:06 PM PST

In the wake of the killing frenzy in Tuscon, members of Congress have called for a renewed ban on high-capacity gun magazines of the sort that allegedly let Jared Loughner take 31 shots and hit 20 people before pausing to reload. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004, limited new gun magazines to a maximum of 10 rounds. According to the DC-based Violence Policy Center, clips that hold more than that have featured in some of the worst mass murders in the US in recent years: