(link embedded in title).
Who does not love soda? I know I do, but I simply can't recall the last time I a can of Coca-Cola (I've been trying to kick the bad habit for a several months). I know my sister had a can a couple days ago, and so did my parents (I saw the cans in the recycling).
There's been a debate on the taxing of soda. "Proposals to tax sugary drinks as a way to fight obesity and finance health care reform have found support from medical experts and some interest from President Obama." But it has also faced resistance, particularly from Coca-Cola C.E.O., Muhtar Kent. In Kent's opinion, "I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink. If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around."
While the government may not necessarily tell us what to eat or drink, it sure does try to make sure we eat healthy. The government has regulations on pesticide, chemical, and hormone use in order to keep our food natural and healthy. It also sets regulations on what types of food is served in school cafeterias and has sites such as MyPyramid.gov or nutrition.gov.
I agree with government taxing of soda. I feel soda is an inelastic product in the market. Many people only drink soda and hate the sight of water. Even if a tax is placed on the product, the quantity demand may not be affected, thus financing health care reform. But hopefully people would be smart enough, especially in the current economy, to spend less on soda and just take a glass or reusable bottle to their kitchen faucet.
-Armaan Vachani
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16 comments:
Well, first off, obviously the Coca-Cola C.E.O. is going to have something to say. It's a tax on his product! I think that the tax on soda is completely logical and faces no opposition outside of the lobbyists the soda companies have placed near legislatures. Also, shouldn't a major reason for taxing soda be that it is a product? I could be wrong, but any raw foods go untaxed but prepared food has tax. Isn't soda prepared..?
Franklin- Are you referring to the sales tax? I think (after a quick search on wikipedia) that the soda tax would be a consumer excise tax- a tax that the producer would have to pay, rather than the consumer (although the price for consumers would inevitably increase). Some other examples of an excise tax would include the taxes on alcohol, gas, and tobacco.
Ahh, thank you Lauren for clarifying that for me. I was wondering why I was a little confused... Research is a good thing on my part..=\
This is exactly what I was thinking about when I made this comment on the blog post about the proposed health care reform:
"Anders, we can be creative about who we tax.
We can have a go at the soft drink industry or possibly the fast food industry. Taxing the candy industry is another possibility. There are ways to raise revenue and slightly wean Americans off an unhealthy diet and/or lifestyle. Of course, these industry taxes won't pay for the entire bill, but it will certainly mitigate the huge costs that ordninary people will have to face."
It's not just liquid candy that we can tax; it can extend to junk food in general.
Corporations like McDonalds have major influence around the world. Surely an increase in taxes in one country will not bring its mighty company to its knees.
"...to spend less on soda and just take a glass or reusable bottle to their kitchen faucet."
Depending on where you live, faucet water can sometimes be really disgusting.
"Even if a tax is placed on the product, the quantity demand may not be affected, thus financing health care reform."
I have doubts that revenues from these taxes will cover the whole (or even most) cost healthcare. But there's no doubt that it will mitigate costs.
WoW!
"In Kent's opinion, 'I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink. If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around.'"
Epic really. I just can't conceive of the irrationality of this statement. Can someone tell me if the man is attention deprived or just flat out stupid? This is the least of what the government can do to try to limit the purchasing unhealthy beverages. It's a tax. The government is not banning it, they're not protesting against it, they're simply trying to steer away attention in hopes of cleaning up America's diet. Oh no, Coca-Cola might lose some profit! *slaps cheeks*
These days, as we know, profit is just undeniably, shall we say, more important than your standard one-time notification and entitlement to a healthy life!
-Andrew Oxendine 3°
P.S. Anders, before you go off ranting, let me just say yes, you are right, if people want to consume these beverages, they certainly can, and yes it is their problem, but the government can still try to influence people towards better eating/drinking habits, unless we diverge into the argument of what's obviously healthy or not healthy to eat or drink, shall we?
Apparently, the freedom to be fat is just as viciously protected as the freedom of speech.
I have to disagree with the tax on soda. Although government regulates what is served in public school and provides us with sites such as MyPyramid.gov, is taxing soda really going to help Americans fight this bad habit? Government is simply setting guidelines for what we should eat, but I believe this tax would be unnecessary. The only change would be, larger sums of money flowing into the government and away from consumers. People will continue to drink the drinks they please, and eat the foods they want regardless.
"People will continue to drink the drinks they please, and eat the foods they want regardless."
The tax is just one more motivation for people to stop eating so much junk food.
If a consumer is tempted to drink more soda, for example, but knows that it will hurt his already abysmal health, he/she may hesitate.
That tax may just be a turning point in the stalemate.
Higher prices on most commodities generally means less people will purchase it, with a few exceptions.
People are willing to pay $3 for a soda. Soda prices are extremely low in some places, and extremely higher in others. Unless this tax nearly doubles the price of a drink, I believe it will not motivate those eating poorly.
While the tax sounds like a nice way to reduce obesity, I don't personally think it would be very effective. If the tax passes and soda prices increases from about $1 a can to $1.50 a can, most people that used to buy it probably would still buy it. Soda is also only part of the problem, there's also junk food, fast food etc. I think trying to educate the public about eating more healthy would be a better approach than doing this.
Personally I wouldn't mind if the tax passes, unless they decide to go make the tax triple the price of soda. If they do it would be effective in stopping people from drinking it but it would be hard to convince people to support a tax that would do something like this even if it would help obesity.
I agree with Mei-Mei. I don't think that the tax on soda will really make a difference because as she said, the prices of soda ranges from different places depending on where you buy it from. Therefore, people will just go buy soda from the cheaper stores. Also, the taxes on soda won't really change the amount of soda people consume because just like the movie Fast Food Nation which proves how bad junk foods are to our health, Americans still consume junk food. This is a stretch but McDonalds has increased it prices and people still choose to eat there.
I agree with Goldie. It's interesting how one can find that soda, when bought in quantity, can be as cheap as ten cents a can. However, you can go to an amusement park and find that soda is five dollars-and people are still drinking it by the gallon. If anything, our nation's children need to be taught how to thrive healthily. Putting a tax on soda will not do much. Education will. Our children need to learn that soda is bad, not that soda is expensive because it's bad.
Drinking habits do depend on prices.
For those consumers who don't have reservations against spending more than they have to, then the tax won't work much.
But for many people who like to save, buying more expensive soda is not such a good idea.
For example, I don't buy jamba juice often because it's too expensive for a cup of juice. I just drink juice I get from Costco. Sure, soda and jamba juice aren't the same thing, but the point is still the same - the price of commodoties affect the sales.
Preston.
We have a health class in school, and people still chug soda like crazy.
I deleted my previous post, because I hate the number 13.
Well, to put it nicely, I think that our current existent health class curriculum is a joke.
I like the idea of taxing sodas...did you know that according to fast food nation, the number one product sold in McDonald's is their soda... what can that partially tell you about obesity???
I hope this will at least make me think twice before paying even more for a product that is just plain unhealthy for you.
Sebastian Escobar
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