There's Nothing SWEET About the National Soda Tax

Reason ^ | August 23, 2014 | Baylen Linnekin

[bamahead]

Last month, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) proposed the SWEET Act, an excise tax on sweetened beverages. The tax, which has been billed as a national soda tax, would lay a one-cent duty on every teaspoon of sugar in soft drinks and other beverages. The proposal is intended "to curb obesity, diabetes, and the resulting health care costs."

Why is this a good idea?

“When a two-liter cola is 99 cents and blueberries are over three dollars, something has gone very wrong,” DeLauro told attendees.

For the record, a pint of blueberries contains more than 40g of sugar. That’s about as much sugar as you’ll find in a pint of soda.

----SNIP----

But the handful of soda tax supporters may be insulated from these facts, given the echo chamber in which they reside. For example, Rep. DeLauro publicly announced her intentions to introduce the tax during a videotaped appearance at the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s insiders-only “soda summit” in June, shortly before a New York State court sounded the death knell for New York City’s reviled soda ban. (The fact one New York City health department official who spoke at the “soda summit” described the city’s appeal as “critical for future efforts by the department to take action” can only be described as good news for those who think the city’s future efforts shouldn’t include such buffoonery.)

The CSPI summit was co-sponsored by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s philanthropic arm. DeLauro’s proposed tax is similar to a one-peso-per-liter tax that took effect this year in Mexico. That tax became law thanks to a $10 million donation from the same Bloomberg charity that co-sponsored the CSPI soda summit.

[trebb]

“When a two-liter cola is 99 cents and blueberries are over three dollars, something has gone very wrong,” DeLauro told attendees.

Heck - when anything is cheaper than a similar amount of water, there's something seriously wrong --- with the consumers who allow it.

[383rr]

We’ve been warning folks about this very thing for years.This is how it starts, and you can bet your ass fast-food is next.

[gidget7]

Funny thing.....th more they push this Obesity/Diabetes prevention measures (pft) the heavier and heavier people are getting. What they are doing Is not only not working, it is, as government programs always do, making any problem a whole lot worse! I personally know about 10 people who were never heavy before, and now they are, while they are following these so called guidelines. I also know several people who are all of a sudden diabetic.

Go to any health care agency of facility, I defy you to
find a dietitian (rare) or 10 people total who are not very overweigh.