Joho the Blog
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February 16, 2004
According to the side of the Cheerios box, if we send in $5, First Book will "give children from low-income familes the opportunity to own their first new books." As school districts routinely ask parents to chip in to pay for the basic supplies the school needs, it's good to know that educating our children - a basic government service - is being outsourced to General Mills. Look, I'm glad Cheerios is asking us to support a charity, and First Book seems to be a worthy group. I'm just not enough of a libertarian to prefer largesse to taxes when it comes to the government's basic obligations. Posted
by D. Weinberger at February 16, 2004 09:31 AM
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Comments
Educating children is our obligation as people. Relying on government to do it well is just as iffy as cereal companies in my opinion.
Posted by: Kevin Marks | February 16, 2004 07:23 PM
The government is there to serve the public good; General Mills is there only to serve its shareholders. That's the difference, Kevin.
Posted by: scott | February 16, 2004 09:35 PM
Hmm. A truly ethical corporation would serve the interests of stakeholders by adding value over the long-run.
It truly sucks when the public must rely on ethical corporations (which are few and far between), instead of our government (which is of, by and for us). But a well-read public will make better choices. It's a risk for General Mills to encourage stakeholders who someday may be smart enough to choose a different product; it puts the onus on them to develop a better product for a better clientele.
Is this a perfect scenario, Cheerios-funded books? No -- but as a parent who's seen a crapload of other meaningless and brain-sucking promotions, this one gets my vote.
Posted by: Rayne | February 17, 2004 03:21 PM