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June 13, 2006
Soda Pop Sin Tax
Guided by the principles that there could never be too many taxes or too much coercive meddling in other people's business, members of the American Medical Association are calling for a sin tax on soda pop.
Such a tax could raise $1.5 billion per year, claims the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is opposed to the consumption of most popular food.
The loot would supposedly go to fighting obesity — kind of like the way the zillions trial lawyers and their bureaucrat friends robbed from smokers went to fighting cancer.
Of course the primary concern is childhood obesity. "Consider the children" is always the last thing you hear before you get screwed.
According to studies, over-consumption of stuff like soda can be correlated with expanding waistlines. Soda taxes are presumably required to finance more of these groundbreaking studies.
Hat tip: William
Posted by Van Helsing at June 13, 2006 3:34 PM
Comments
Yeah. Couple of points here.
1. The only way for the government to successfully fight childhood obesity is...nonexistent. Children become obese either because (a) they're genetically predisposed to doing so due to a thyroid malfunction or other medically treatable cause or (b) their parents feed them too much junk food and don't make them exercise. This isn't a government problem, it's a parenting problem, and let's face it - no matter how mad the nanny state may get it needs to keep its hands off my kid's diet.
2. None of this money will actually go to helping children. It will support "studies," "awareness programs" (read: propaganda), administrative costs and government expenses, but if one child ever sees so much as a penny of this money, I really am a horned quadruped. With fleas.
3. This is the slippery slope of all slippery slopes. Tax soda, and the next thing you know you're taxing everything with significant sugar content and little nutritional value. Essentially half the supermarket. On a good day. Goodbye candy, ice cream, popsicles, cookies, crackers, juice drinks (yeah, check the label some time) and most other snack foods.
One word for this one: idiotic.
Posted by: The Random Yak at June 13, 2006 3:44 PM
