Tax On Soda and Juice Drinks

Re-read my response.

If they NEED to tax something - it should be alcohol, cigarettes, restaurant visits, entertainment, etc.

Soda & Juice drinks aren't a necessity. But what about chips, pretzels, nacho's, chip dip and everything else that aren't necessities? With that theory, they should TAX everything that's not grown in a garden, on a tree, or on a farm.

Soda & juice drinks responsible for obesity? Bullshit!!
Responsible for cavities...YES. That's all my parents gave us when we were kids was kool-aid because we couldn't afford anything else.

 

NO MORE TAXES

It has reached near epic proportions. I will take care of family. I do not need the goverments help. The goverment better stay the HELL away from my child.

We have come to the point where we have record taxes levied on nearly every facet of our daily lives.

 

Ugh, no! As many have stated here life style is to blame for the most part.

Long and short of it is why would you give the government the right to tell you "essentially" what you can and cannot eat, yes I know you can still make the choice; but personally I pay enough taxes already.

As for the tax money being used for the positive, what government program doesn't have ungodly wasteful spending, corruption, and general ineffectiveness? It seems to me to be another money grab.

How about we look at giving healthy life styles incentives rather than tax everyone to supposedly help solve the problem?

 

In regards to the taxes on Soda, no way will that pass. First of all, putting taxes on food producers- and that includes alcohol- is ridiculous and counterproductive. Perfect example is out here in Cali the state government raised taxes on beer by 10%. I brew a lot of my own beer and I appreciate a good microbrew. Only problem is that these smaller breweries don't have the capacity that all the swill producers have. So guess what happened when they raised taxes? Sales of microbrewed beer dropped like a rock.

You think about it and look at how many small breweries there are just in California. There are over 5,000 independent breweries across the country employing 10's of thousands of Americans. With the drop in sales, these companies are going to lay people off. So instead of solving a problem and trying to raise money by taxes, you will lose all that savings paying unemployment insurance. Its all bullshit.

The same will happen to companies that make soda and other junk. They'll lay people off and probably just make the stuff overseas. That's how it works and that's what will happen. As far as the obesity problem, yeah- it is a big problem in this country, particularly in some chunks of it. When I visit my folks in the South, I worry that the damned plane won't get off the ground because 90% of the people on it are fat Southerners. You look at what most eat, its junk. Absolute processed, sugary junk. So its gonna' take a hell of a lot more than just taking away soda to get people to stop making themselves fat.

If you want to know a better idea, perhaps it would be to incentivize people. Perhaps if you lost more weight, you could get either a tax cut or a tax reduction. Of course people would whine and bitch about this too as government meddling. But it would be better than punishing US business. Let's put it another way: Soda has been around for over 100 years. IN the 1920's people wern't fat. They wern't fat in the 60's either, and compared to even the 80's, Americans were a lot thinner than they are now. So its not soda doing it. The answer is more likely that people sit on their asses and play video games, chat on the internets and text on their phones.

 

These types of taxes are NOT meant to cure anything. They are only put in place to generate revenue off of certain consumable items that the government knows that the majority of people will continue to purchase. They don't care nearly as much about your health as they do your dollars. Sad, but clearly true.

 

You're only 25. Your use of social services will likely change heavily as you age. Same goes for me, I know I don't use much now, but I know I will down the road.

 

Maybe someday the government will remember that lower taxes increase productivity and jobs and high taxes stifle the economy. Look at the states in this country with highest taxes. They are the ones with the biggest budget defecits. Taxing soda is a joke IMO.

 

i blame my excess fat solely on soda and the fact that its so cheap i cant help but drink it. i hope they raise taxes so i cant buy it anymore and will finally have those washboard abs i've always wanted

 

X100000000000!

This plan of taxing is just a damn way to recover money they frivolously spent already....

 

I make choices now to invest, work towards a pension that includes health care, and keep my self as healthy as possible and be as responsible as I can with my money.
The less taxes...the better I can do for myself. I'm sure I will use some social services- but no where NEAR 50% of what I make worth...

 

Taxing tobacco and alcohol didn't stop people from smoking and drinking.

The govt needs to go back to what they do best, printing money, building roads, and maintaining an army. Let everyone else do what they want.

 

Looks like we are getting closer to a national soda tax. A few states have already done such a thing: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/weekinreview/14bittman.html

 

It's like tabacco...THe goverment raised the taxes, BUt I never quit dipping. Even tho I'd love to.

 

Even the government wants to pick on the fat kids...

 

Government should provide civil services: roads, police/fire etc, education, utilities, basic healthcare and emergency care.

Why does the government buy milk and throw it away to keep the dairy farmers in business?

Tax in order to fund those things and nothing more. Shouldnt police our lifestyle, or have to provide care in order to correct improper lifestyle choices. If someone wants to eat unhealthy foods their entire life and get diabetes as a result of diet, they should have to pay for the associated medical supplies.

I view that situation as the same as me deciding to ride a motorcycle and have to buy the safety gear that goes with it. Its a lifestyle choice.

 

I think we the People should pass a Stupid Tax on the folks of Washington DC, shit the deficit will be gone before the ink dried

 

I read an article in a medical magazine years ago where people write in and "Ask the Doctor" questions. The question was "What is the worst junk food that you can consume". The answer was......soda. I don't drink the shit because I feel bad after I drink it and it doesn't quench my thirst. My wife, drinks at least 2 liters of soda everyday. She complains everyday that she doesn't feel good, I just shake my head at her and tell her to drink some water. Soda is garbage.....drink beer instead.

 

The government is just getting a dime like said before this is just a excuse to put a little extra money in their pockets, if you raise the cost of a pop 30 cents more its not like theres gona be a fat dude going to buy a soda and see the 30 cent price difference and be like holy sh#t $1.40 hell no!! lol its not gona happen

 

Are you serious?............................

 

taxing soda to fight obesity is like taxing pron to fight aids.