Let the Taxing on Soda Begin

This article will express my views on the soft drink tax that is currently being debated across the country. Normally, I am against excessive taxes. I am not a person who believes that people should have to pay taxes out of their butts. Still, I am not entirely against certain types of taxes. As a matter of fact, I am for a tax on sugary beverages. I'll explain why.

I have been over many people's homes and saw the number of sodas that they have in their refrigerators. I will admit that I too always liked to have soda a couple of times a day while I was growing up. Today, I do not drink soda nearly as much and will go many days in a row without a soda.

The question is why do I support a tax on sugary beverages? I feel the same way that many scientists and healthcare professionals do. Taxing certain goods may provide a small decrease in obesity levels and provide some improvement to people's health. When kids are drinking five or six sugary and highly caffeinated sodas, this situation is not good. Some parents will not say no to their children and will let them drink a six pack or twelve pack of soda a day. This is not good.

According to an article on New York Times, a two liter bottle of soda that costs $1.35 would cost somewhere around $2.00 (a 50% increase). I am not quite sure what the big deal is here. For one thing, there are many vending machines that charge a $1.25 or $1.50 for a 20 fl oz bottle of soda and I can't tell you how many people I see getting sodas from these machines. A 2-liter bottle of soda selling for $2.00 would still be a bargain compared to this. As far as a $1.44 increase on a 12 can case of soda that may be a little too high. I would be for something more like a $0.50 or $0.75 increase. In the end, the tax would still be profitable and a 12 can case would still be fairly affordable.

According to the New York Times, the American Beverage industry is giving the usually sobbing story. Yes, yes, we know you have been hurting during the recession you poor CEOs and Executives. You don't want your millions and millions of dollars to take a small hit. Boo hoo hoo! Of course, they don't think about the hits that other industries have had to deal with.

Usually, whenever I hear the word tax, it makes me cringe. In this case, however, it doesn't. This tax would not really be all that noticeable anyway. As I said previously, a raise of $1.44 on a 12 pack of soda would be a little too much. Taxes on all sugary products should be somewhere between $0.50 and $0.75. As is noted by the article on New York Times, if the tax was levied on manufacturers of these drinks, then they could spread it out among many of there other products. This would reduce the amount that people pay on sugary sodas. Keep in mind that this tax proposal does not include sugar free diet drinks.

While the increase in price of sodas may cause people to buy a little less, this does not mean that a big dent will be put in the obesity problem. I cannot say that it would help people lose weight. Also, I do not believe that sugary drinks are the main cause of obesity in children. Even so, I do think it is a contributing factor. I am not so much for the tax because of the effect that it may have on the obesity problem (which may end up being negligible), but more so because the money raised could go to the right health care initiatives when and if they are ever proposed and passed. When it comes down to it, the government will get the money out of us in some way, so it might as well be this way. They already tax the living daylights out of my paycheck, so a $0.50 to $0.75 raise on soda prices will not make much of a difference in my situation.

I will say a couple of things that I hope everyone will understand. People can fight this soda tax to their heart's desire. In the end, they will find some other way to get the money from the American people. Soda is not essential to living. Just let it go.

Source:

William Neuman, "Proposed Tax on Sugary Beverages Debated." NYTimes.com.