People have been suggesting that there be some sort of tax on soft drinks. This has been floated by some cities, (I believe NYC), and has failed to gain much traction. Today I’m going to break the issue apart to see if it really is worth it.
Why tax sugary drinks?
In this article, they review the reasons why to tax sugary drinks, a few being that it’s a good way to close the deficit and reduce obesity. I think that this (in theory) is a good idea. I have seen that if you are born after the year 2000, 1 in 3 of you will develop diabetes at some point. I believe that this counts people who are born with the disease, but the high number is due to increases in type 2 (formerly called adult onset) diabetes. It can lead to heart disease and other vascular conditions. In my mind, this represents a ticking time bomb moving through the healthcare system, similar to the effect that the baby boomers are expected to have on the social security system. The thing is, this disease (they type 2) portion is preventable. Things that can cause the disease are lack of exercise, too much sugar and a poor diet. None of these problems are caused by anyone but the person with diabetes. So, once again, the government is looking to step in to protect people from themselves.
Is this an intrusion on your personal choice and liberty?
You may think so at first, and so did the CEO of Coca-Cola. He said “I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink” to a rotary club . Unfortunately, this sort of thing is regulated all the time, although you may not see it. They are regulating and propping up prices for crops, and have been for years. Corn is one of the ones that gets the biggest subsidies, and is currently used frequently in the soft drinks. So as it stands, the government is cutting the price of corn and the could be taxing it on another end. Why not just let the market work?
Do you need to be protected?
As I mentioned in an earlier post, self reliance is pretty under-rated (and under practiced) these days. Why should someone just wait for another party (in this case, the governemt) to help them do what they should be doing for themselves? Our health is the one thing we have a fairly high degree of control over, and is also the one thing that can slow us down upon retirement. If you’ve worked hard all your life to provide for your family, and have neglected your health in the process, the time you plan on spending solely with loved ones will be cut shorter that you would like because you didnt take care of yourself.
The bottom line is this: There hasnt been many people taking care of themselves, so the government is looking at prodding them in the right direction using fiscal means.
Questions to the readers
- Do you want the government taking care of you?
- If yes, do you think they do a good job?
- Do you enjoy sodas or other sugary drinks?
