Senate leaders are considering implementing new federal taxes on soda and other sugary drinks to help pay for the much talked about and highly debated overhaul of the nation’s health-care system.
The taxes would only pay for a small fraction of the cost to expand health-insurance coverage to all Americans and would of course face strong opposition from the beverage industry. The taxes also could, and most likely would, spark a backlash from drink consumers who would have to pay several cents more for their favorite sweet drink.
The beverage industry has valid and understandable gripes with the proposed tax, as their only concern is their bottom line. As for consumer backlash, this sounds very familiar. For people to complain about having to pay more for something unhealthy they choose to consume is the same old cigarette tax debate all over again. No one wants to pay more money for anything, especially something that is consumed on a regular, often daily basis and feel they are being penalized for a lifestyle choice.
It is a fact that sugary drinks are unhealthy, and a huge culprit in the obesity epidemic. Supports say if America is going to suck them down anyway, it might as well go to help people, right?
Even with a hike in price, soda would still be cheaper than milk or 100% fruit juice so, unfortunately, I don’t think a tax will deter people from drinking soda at all. We are addicted to sugar, just as we are addicted to nicotine, and it’s killing us.
I guess nay-sayers could look at it this way: those extra cents you pay for your soda you choose to drink will go towards your diabetes medication a few years down the road.
I think the question here has two parts: should we tax sugary drinks in the first place, and then does your answer to that question depend on how you feel about the proposed health care reform?
