Posted on 06/17/2016 7:33:50 AM PDT by shortstop
I doubt they see the irony.
In Philadelphia, where American freedom was born, they’re taxing soda pop.
That’s because it’s bad for you. Too much sugar, too much carbonation, too much freedom.
So the city council has imposed a tax.
It’s being seen as a victory over evil soda pop corporations. Somewhere along the way, apparently, Coca-Cola became the antichrist.
And somewhere along the way, apparently, people became incapable of running their own lives.
And in the city where men in Independence Hall declared that humankind is endowed at birth with liberty and the right to pursue a self-determined happiness, it seems pretty darned odd that the government wants to decide what you drink.
It is amazing how completely upside down the relationship between the people and the government has become. In the very city where, in that very same Independence Hall, another group of men envisioned a limited government and a free people, they seek to compel a choice of beverage.
And the people cheer it.
As they lose this small bit of independence, and applaud their government masters for it, they don’t seem to grasp that they are being taxed more. Both money and freedom are being taken from them and, instead of rising up like earlier inhabitants of Philadelphia, they are happy.
Like little sheep unaware they are being led to the slaughterhouse.
When Americans first gathered at Philadelphia to declare their independence, they were continuing a process that commenced with a tax on tea.
Which is a lot like a tax on soda pop.
Except our forefathers condemned the king who taxed their tea, and we have embraced the mayor who taxed our soda pop.
So let’s review some things.
America wasn’t established to protect you, it was established to liberate you. The government is not your mommy, it is your servant.
It is not here to wipe your hind end or supervise your diet.
It’s not here to determine how many gallons are in your toilet or how many ounces are in your paint can or how many miles per gallon your car can run.
And it is especially not to make decisions which are entirely yours to make – like what you eat or drink.
If you drink soda and gain weight, that is your business. It is not the government’s role to either reward or punish your individual choices.
In America, we have lost sight of our basic premise, of the very reason our county exists. Some days it’s almost as if America has ceased to exist, as if the country our parents and grandparents knew has been subverted and replaced by the very sort of totalitarian society their generations fought against.
We sing of being the land of the free, but suffocated by regulation and law, we are anything but. The needful rules of society have become overgrown and strangling, they have become chains.
And so one city legislates how many ounces can be in your cup, and another legislates which beverages it wants you to drink.
The one was our first capital, the other where our founding documents were signed.
And both are betrayed by the deeds of their leaders.
And both lose sight of this fundamental principle: The government can only protect you by enslaving you. The only way it can free you from the consequences of your choices is by taking away your choices.
And as it does, it weakens you. As it accustoms you to the feel of its mastery, it steals from you your ability to find your own way. It gets stronger and we get weaker. It gets more powerful and we get less free.
It’s not about sugar or calories, it’s about freedom. The simple freedom to decide what you want to drink free of government interference.
And in Philadelphia they’ve lost that.
Like we all have lost so much.
Never underestimate the gross stupidity of the liberal population of any major northeastern city.
It’s not about sugar or calories because they are taxing diet soda too, even if it has no sugar or calories.
Buy a Soda Stream, I guess.
I love mine - only used to carbonate water though.
Exactly! It’s about getting more of your money so they can use it to buy votes to keep themselves in office.
Tax policy should never be used for social engineering.
I go to Philadelphia occasionally for work. If I’m there over lunch, I will be buying my own drinks outside the city and brining it to the restaurant.
The funny thing is the only people this tax will affect are the people democrat profess to care so much about, the dirt poor, mostly minorities. Anybody that is middle class or better has the means just to drive an extra mile outside the city limits to stock up on their beverage of choice or makes enough money that the tax wouldn’t even be noticed in their grocery bill.
Throw the soda in the harbor. Its been done before.
Or in this case, leave it on the shelf.
I guarantee this will be a boost to business. . . located just over the city line, or over the bridge . . .
It’s not so much the SUGAR in the soda pop; it’s the derned
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP that rots out your gut. - Still;
I’ll defend your right to guzzle that crap if you wish.
We used to get 8 oz. sodas sweetened with pure cane sugar &
they tasted good & were large enough.
That’s because it’s bad for you. Too much sugar, too much carbonation, too much freedom.
I agree, the first thing we need to do is make this Policy Count.
Any Public Employee found to be in possession of or has used any Beverage covered under this New Tax, SHALL BE TERMINATED IMMEDIATELY, Complete LOSS of ALL BENEFITS.
COme on the stuff is REALLY BAD, Let’’s BAN IT’S USE THEN!
Taxing children who just want to enjoy a soda pop at the ball game or the movies. Sad.
You, the great unwashed, are not to be trusted to make your own choice.
Besides the money advertised for has already been promised to be used for something else.
Sucka!
But mostly a government scheme to extort more money from the citizenry.
First they came for the smokers. Now they have the playbook for everyone else.
Some of us sounded the alarms to no avail. Even a good portion of FReepers were willing to sacrifice liberty so that their “clothes won’t stink” after going to a bar.
Enjoy the “Brave New World.”
I have a nephew (who is now in college as a Political Science major) who (last time I even tried to engage him in discourse) is all on board for regulation of people’s personal eating and other habits. Transfats, soda, you name it.
I said “What if you really like eating a certain food, like...ice cream, and the government decides that is bad for you, so they will start trying to tax it and/or outlaw it?” He just stared at me as if that hadn’t occurred to him.
That was at least five or six years ago. I don’t talk to him much anymore.
On a related item, my wife and I went to an ice cream stand that I have been going to most of my adult life, and I ordered a sundae, and wanted two flavors in it.
The young guy said “Would you like to order this double-sundae, you can get two flavors with that.” as he held out a long, rectangular dish. I declined, and said I didn’t want that much ice cream, and...picked up where I left off, saying “I would like half chocolate and half vanilla...” and he interrupted me and said “We can’t put multiple flavors in a cone or sundae unless you order this other thing...”
Taken aback, I pondered, then said, “OK. Ill just take chocolate, hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry...” and he said “We don’t offer cherries any more, sir.”
I think I must have been staring at him as my wife tried to intervene and guide me to the “appropriate” order so we wouldn’t hold up the line, but I persisted: “Why not? Why don’t you offer cherries?”
The kid said “They are unhealthy, we don’t stock them anymore.”
I must say, I was dumbfounded.
Here they are, selling these fat and sugar filled concoctions that will clog your arteries just looking at them, but a maraschino cherry is “unhealthy”?
I know it is a private business, and the owner can make any rules he wants, but...I don’t think I am going back there ever again. 40+ years. Wow.
Stupid tax by stupid people for stupid people that elect their ‘leaders.’
Will the tax just be on “sugar” or the corn syrup they use. The irony in my neck of the woods is people import real soda pop from Mexico which has real sugar.
Wow.
Thanks for sharing.
I have decided that politicians are bad for you health. From now on anyone elected for office will have to pay 200% of their new worth and 100% of their salary back into the coffers.
>>Tax policy should never be used for social engineering.
Amen.
Top reasons that it is:
1. The left (as well as far too many on the right) are control freaks.
2. They can’t control themselves and deep down are disgusted with their own behavior, so they compensate by trying to control others.
3. Social engineering has a cascading effect. By making the goobermint financially responsible for your health care, they now have a vested interest in forcing you to be healthy.
4. They are unable to distinguish between responsible citizens using products responsibly and people who are deadbeats or crazy or self-destructive. Whether it’s sodas or guns, one irresponsible person makes them think they need to control EVERYONE.
..... and the top reason: $,$,$. The goobermint never met a revenue stream or a tax that it didn’t like.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.