Suppose n >= 2. We show that there is no integer v >= 1 such that for all commutative rings R with identity, every element of the subring J(2^n,R) of R generated by 2^n-th powers can be written in the form \pm f_1^{2^n} \pm \cdots \pm f_v^{2^n} for some f_1,...,f_v \in R and some choice of signs.