The soda tax proposed in DC

[Anonymous]

I agree with the motive - to make kids healthier. However, the DC Council needs to figure out how to solve problems without taxing everything you buy in this city. Taxation is not the solution. Better fiscal management is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the motive - to make kids healthier. However, the DC Council needs to figure out how to solve problems without taxing everything you buy in this city. Taxation is not the solution. Better fiscal management is.

Agreed. Especially regressive taxes. Maybe some private foundations could have funded healthy kids initiative and big drink companies could have "partnered" with DC by offering deals to encourage switching or subsidizing "healthy" beverages. Great PR opportunity given proximity of FLOTUS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the motive - to make kids healthier. However, the DC Council needs to figure out how to solve problems without taxing everything you buy in this city. Taxation is not the solution. Better fiscal management is.

Pffft. Why on earth can't they both be parts of the solution. Sorry, but this is a perfectly appropriate subject for a targeted tax.

[Anonymous]

While the tax is regressive, it is easily avoided.

[Anonymous]

Because the Council does not do anything on the budgeting end! They got the bag tax done and now the soda tax. It is a slippery slope. Are they going to start taxing fast food and Doritos? They just tax away their problems.

[Anonymous]

Because the Council does not do anything on the budgeting end!

But this is just petulance, not an argument. In the real world, government services are funded by taxes. Welcome to adulthood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:... What we should tax big is tobacco.

DC, as well as 14 states, increased tobacco taxes in 2009.

They haven't gone far enough.

I think both a Federal and individual state "sin" tax is a great idea. Tax all tobacco products heavily; liquor, as well. Also, legalize pot, prostitution and tax them, as well. Nothing is going to stop illegal activity, so let's make it legal and help us out of our horrific deficit so our great, great, great grandchildren won't be cursing us.

P.S. Yea! The soda tax passed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look, soda does not make you fat. Lots of soda or any other foods make you fat. So let's get real here.

Better to tax obesity itself.

What we should tax big is tobacco.

If someone drank one soda a day, they might not think of it as "lots". But if you add 130 calories a day to someone's diet by drinking one 12 oz. soda instead of one glass of water or calorie-free beverage, that's 47,000 extra calories a year. Now I'm sure some of the calories come out elsewhere, but that's a lot of calories. Think of how many pounds of fat that translates to (@3500 calories per lb), or how many miles on a treadmill. And yet, most people would not be aware of the magnitude of a single soda. That is why the tax is valuable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tax tax tax tax!!! Another reason to move out of DC

You would move out of DC because of a soda tax. Right.

Have you seen the local taxes on a restaurant meal in VA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, soda does not make you fat. Lots of soda or any other foods make you fat. So let's get real here.

Better to tax obesity itself.

What we should tax big is tobacco.

If someone drank one soda a day, they might not think of it as "lots". But if you add 130 calories a day to someone's diet by drinking one 12 oz. soda instead of one glass of water or calorie-free beverage, that's 47,000 extra calories a year. Now I'm sure some of the calories come out elsewhere, but that's a lot of calories. Think of how many pounds of fat that translates to (@3500 calories per lb), or how many miles on a treadmill. And yet, most people would not be aware of the magnitude of a single soda. That is why the tax is valuable.

1. Do people who drink soda will give a rat's behind about this taX? Cigarettes are $5 or $6.00 a pack. People are still smoking.

2. SUGAR DOES NOT CONTAIN FAT. By your logic, coffee and tea drinkers should not be allowed to sweeten their beverage of choice with sugar. This is nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, soda does not make you fat. Lots of soda or any other foods make you fat. So let's get real here.

Better to tax obesity itself.

What we should tax big is tobacco.

If someone drank one soda a day, they might not think of it as "lots". But if you add 130 calories a day to someone's diet by drinking one 12 oz. soda instead of one glass of water or calorie-free beverage, that's 47,000 extra calories a year. Now I'm sure some of the calories come out elsewhere, but that's a lot of calories. Think of how many pounds of fat that translates to (@3500 calories per lb), or how many miles on a treadmill. And yet, most people would not be aware of the magnitude of a single soda. That is why the tax is valuable.

1. Do people who drink soda will give a rat's behind about this taX? Cigarettes are $5 or $6.00 a pack. People are still smoking.

2. SUGAR DOES NOT CONTAIN FAT. By your logic, coffee and tea drinkers should not be allowed to sweeten their beverage of choice with sugar. This is nonsense.

1. Taxes on cigarettes reduce smoking in the jurisdictions where they are implemented, particularly among youth. Economics impacts consumer behavior.
2. I never said that sugar contains fat. But if you eat too many calories, your body stores it as fat. It takes 3500 kCal to create one pound of human fat. Is this news to you?
3. I did not say that sugar should be outlawed. (Sugars are a biological necessity.) I only said that small dietary choices can add up a lot without a person realizing it, and taxes can be valuable in changing behavior.