Would You Support A "Soda Tax?"

If the goverment is so worried about sugar and health related risk like cigarettes. Then why do they allow the people on welfare using the independence cards to buy anything they want like sodas and candy.They can't buy cigarettes on this card.

1. Between 2002 & 2006 the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages has declined. 2. the consumption of milk has marked declined from 1965 to 2006. Rather than a tax on soda we should have an incentive to drink milk!

Would the proposed tax also apply to drinks "sweetened" with SUSTA (which is an all natural sweetener)? Thanks in advance

Jerry; This tax would not hit only "little fat children". The best athelets in the world consume sugar drinks. How about diabetics --- they use sugar drinks to control insulin reactions. How about we work on goverment waste before we allow our politicians to pass any more tax.

The problem here is not Soda. The problem is that high fructose corn syrup makes no impact on the brain telling us that we've had any calories. HFCS is a sugar substitute that the brain doesn't recognize which is why so many of us can drink a 64 oz Super Gulp from 7-11 and still want more. Drinks (even sodas) made with real cane sugar don't fool our brains and we can feel full after drinking a 12oz can. The real problem is not just that HFCS is in sodas, it is in juice, breads, cereals, and many other "regular" foods. We are eating more than ever because we're not feeling full after consuming food sweetened with HFCS. Servings have become bigger since HFCS hasn't let us feel full. We've been able to eat super sized value meals because it's in the hamburger buns and it's in the soda. If this country is going to get healthy by taxing unhealthy food, tax HFCS and force the manufacturers to use organic or cane sugar sweeteners. Soda manufacturers who use high quality ingretients will be squeezed tighter in the market for a problem they're not solely responsible for. Irresponsible food manufacturers (using HFCS) will continue to be safe while their products keep making obesity and diabetes our biggest health problems. High fructose corn syrup is not allowed in any significant quantities in many other countries around the globe. At the same time, they have McDonalds et al. but lower instances of obesity and diabetes. We consume HFCS by the truckload, they don't.

If it walks like a tax and quacks like a tax, it is just another tax. The President and his buds in Congress say they can eliminate waste and fraud in Medicare and other programs. So, let them do that and let Americans decide when they should take care of themselves by not abusing calories.

This is how they get you...it's just a small tax and it's really only going to hurt the people who drink soft drinks. Didn't the income tax start off in a similar fashion...it's a really small amount and it will only hurt the top income earners. I think they should get rid of a tax equal to the new tax they would like to impose so each "new" tax would be a zero net gain.

Its about time they start spreading the taxes around. If they can tax the hell out of cigarettes and alcohol, then they can start to tax the hell out of little fat children too.