I drink diet sodas. I drink them a lot. I don't mind the tax. I won't quit drinking them. Diet Sodas aren't that bad for you. Some are worse than others. Diet Rite has no caffeine even. It's just there's no way I'm going to have popcorn at a movie and have it with just water. Soda has complimentary taste. I like to enjoy my meals and snacks. I do also drink large amounts of water each day.
I'll come out in opposition to this tax. I'm especially against the tax if it is as high as suggested in an article quoted in this thread. ONE CENT PER OUNCE OF SODA? If you go to a grocery store and buy a name brand soda 2 liter for $1 that would be a 67% tax! If you buy a generic brand 2 liter, the tax would actually be higher than the product costs! I'm assuming this would be on top of the local sales taxes that we're already paying. Moot point really, because there is no way a tax like this will pass. Why would you single out one contributing factor to obesity in this country? Nearly every restaurant in this country sells food that has shockingly high amounts of fat, calories, and sodium. Tax everything with a trans fat in it. Tax every other product with loads of sugar in it. Tax people who don't work out on a regular basis.
So what? There's also the benefit of raising more money to pay for healthcare reform and the costs of providing healthcare to the people who don't take care of themselves.
Anyone talking about obesity is just crazy. People aren't going to quit drinking soda, just like they don't quit smoking, and they don't quit drinking. This is just another tax raise that the poor will deal with. Nobody cares because they just say quit drinking soda, which isn't going to happen, and even if they did, they would have to find a whole new way to tax everyone. In the end it is just another sin tax. I prefer sin taxes over income taxes, so I'll live with it. I haven't bought a soda in months. I haven't drank one at all in over a month. The real question is what do they tax next?
I believe there is a correlation with smoking rates and when various cigarette taxes went into effect. And the point is that you get a choice: cut back or fund your health care. It really doesn't matter if they stop or not. If they don't, they pay for the health care costs associated with the problem.
Doesn't keep the poor from being the most likely to smoke. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/american-smokers-and-income-charted/
I don't think this would work for me with my addiction to cookies. I love homemade, from scratch cookies the most.
That's not really relevant though. Perhaps they were an even bigger percentage of smokers before the cigarette taxes.
Perhaps, but I haven't been able to find any concrete numbers. I read in a wikipedia article that Scientists believe increasing the price 10% would get 3-5% to quit, but it also referred to cigs as inelastic(a price increase likely won't see many quit). Unquestionably though the people who shouldn't be able to afford them now are the ones smoking the most. Interesting was it said that a pack costs $7 worth of added healthcare costs and productivity costs.
Here's a better idea, 2000 calorie per day cap on each American. Eat more then you pay taxes, and also lose a turn and "do not collect $200"! Come on this is just ridiculous, if we are serious about implementing a obesity tax than lets tax everything, fast food starting with McDonald's and every joint that sells greasy unhealthy crap for a meal. Also go after the candy industry Sneakers, M&Ms and Reese's for addcting people to chocolate. This is a witch hunt with no end, soda is not the reason people become fat. I guess the inability to control your consumption has nothing to do with your physical shape, right? Before I get shot down by ignorati on this board, I must say I am not against taxing products that cause harm to your health but the notion to isolate one product such as soft drinks, to me is a foolish endeavor. Coke alone is not responsible for the epidemic luring in America. This country now has a cultural acceptance of such foods and the lifestyle that comes with it. Bottom line if your going to take a stand on this issue then you need to go after the main source of the problem. In a Big Mac meal with a whopping 1200 calories, the 150 calories from soda pop should be the least of your worries.
Making cookies from scratch doesn't take much effort but it does slow you down by at least 15 to 20 minutes. Besides, the cookies you make from scratch are going to be healthier than most cookies that are bought. You don't use Fluid Flex (an edible fat used in most commercial baked products that is essentially petroleum jelly), you don't bake with HFCS. You don't add preservatives or 15 different ingredients that are all derived from corn. Even if cookies are full of butter and sugar, at least it's healthier carbs and fat that your body processes better.
One of the reasons why it is going to be hard to get people to stop eating bad food is that cheap food is .... cheap. It's cheap to make, it's cheap to buy, it's packed with calories without the added expense of fiber or nutrition. A lot of Americans grew up with this food and love it. Really healthy food takes some culinary experience to make truly apealling. For people who've never eaten well, either at home, with friends or at restaurants, they are going to have a hard time convincing their families to stop eating Doritos and drinking Dr. Pepper and start enjoying grilled zuchini with goat cheese. So raising the prices on food that's bad for you might help fund health care but by itself won't be enough to bring about the changes that are really needed.
People have the right to drink soda without a ****ing tax , i dont ever drink soda but this is suppose to be a free country, lol implying a soda tax. this country is going to **** quick
Hey ******, they're not banning soda. you can still buy it. you'll just be paying a few cents extra so you can pay for you insulin shots later in life
