# Sugary drink tax **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460 "2009-10-03T16:56:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/1 "2009-10-03T16:56:46Z")
I’ve seen commercials against a proposed sugary drink tax. I haven’t paid much attention because I don’t drink a lot of sugary drinks. (I might have a 16 oz. Coca Cola in a week, and a Monster a month. I prefer water, unsweetened iced tea, or coffee.) The commercials feature a young mother who complains that the tax would prevent her from giving her kids sodas and sugar-sweetened juice drinks. Do you care one way or the other about the proposed tax? (NB: I’m not sure if this is a state thing, or a Federal thing.) ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/2 "2009-10-03T17:44:33Z")
It’s a federal tax, one that appears to have popped up in budget and health care discussions in Congress in July. The proposal that’s gotten the most coverage is three cents per twelve ounces (resulting in a 17 cent charge on a two-liter bottle) another much-discussed alternative is one cent per ounce. Many states already tax soft drinks, although most do not earmark the funds for health care spending, as is being proposed here, nor were they passed for the purpose of discouraging consumption. I really can’t say I care either way; I’m not thrilled with the results of most tax-based social engineering, but I have no philosophical opposition to it either. Raising money for health care is OK, although I favor the income tax over spending-based taxes. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/3 "2009-10-04T00:11:42Z")
I admit I feel a bit vindictive about it. I say, if they can tax the shit out of cigarettes, they should tax pop. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/4 "2009-10-04T00:14:56Z")
I don’t give a fuck and I drink soda all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/5 "2009-10-04T02:48:58Z")
I oppose it. At least sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco can be justified as paying for the negative externalities they cause. The same is not true of soft drinks. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/6 "2009-10-04T03:07:47Z")
I don’t have a problem with sin taxes. I rarely drink soda, so this one wouldn’t effect me much, but I have a wicked sweet tooth and don’t object to the idea of a tax on processed junk foods either. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/7 "2009-10-04T03:40:06Z")
I would rather they stop subsidizing corn used to make high fructose corn syrup if they are going to do something to help combat obesity. It makes no sense to me to give money to people to grow the stuff and then punish people for eating it. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/8 "2009-10-04T04:05:25Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I would rather they stop subsidizing corn used to make high fructose corn syrup if they are going to do something to help combat obesity. It makes no sense to me to give money to people to grow the stuff and then punish people for eating it. I’d agree, but this opens up a huge issue–that is, corn subsidies. I wonder if soda and other highly-sweetened drinks weren’t so cheap to spew out of fast-food fountains, people would stop drinking it as they do. When I see people in 7-11 filling up their personal 48 oz. containers of Coke for breakfast (instead of the traditional cup of coffee with a teaspoon or so of sugar), I just wonder what they eat and drink in _the rest_ of the day. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/9 "2009-10-04T04:18:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The commercials feature a young mother who complains that the tax would prevent her from giving her kids sodas and sugar-sweetened juice drinks. Seriously?? If a pennies-per-ounce rise in the price of sugar drinks is going to bankrupt you, then you are drinking waaaaay too much sugar drinks. Is this lobby trying to tell us that people are proud to be serving HFCS to their kids? That’s sick. I don’t drink sugared sodas (I drink diet) but I do live in a state that taxes carbonized beverages and I don’t give a fuck. Doesn’t stop me from drinking them. And yeah, like **niblet\_head** , I’m a smoker and am vindictive about it. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/10 "2009-10-04T04:34:51Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I oppose it. At least sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco can be justified as paying for the negative externalities they cause. The same is not true of soft drinks. Umm, yes it can. Sugary drinks are terrible for you and are a major contributer to obesity. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/11 "2009-10-04T05:06:11Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Umm, yes it can. Sugary drinks are terrible for you and are a major contributer to obesity. Health problems or obesity suffered by the _user_ are not externalities. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/12 "2009-10-04T05:09:30Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Health problems or obesity suffered by the _user_ are not externalities. They most certainly are, they push my private insurance premiums up if you get sick, and they are paid for by the public in terms of a public healthcare option. I think taxing vice is a great way to fund healthcare. The idea that a Coca Cola is any less a vice than a Jack and Coke is silly. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/13 "2009-10-04T05:26:02Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > They most certainly are, they push my private insurance premiums up if you get sick, and they are paid for by the public in terms of a public healthcare option. They only push up your costs if the government deliberately makes them negative externalities, by forcing everyone to subsidise the other guy’s healthcare. You are using unethical behaviour by the government as an excuse to expand the government’s power. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/14 "2009-10-04T05:38:29Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > They only push up your costs if the government deliberately makes them negative externalities, by forcing everyone to subsidise the other guy’s healthcare. You are using unethical behaviour by the government as an excuse to expand the government’s power. I read that 10 times and don’t have a clue what it means. Anyway, be prepared to pay higher taxes to support your upcoming health care plan. It’s inevitable, and pennies on a soft drink is nothing: big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/15 "2009-10-04T05:39:52Z")
Just add it to the other taxes that aren’t being charged to people who make less than $250,000. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/16 "2009-10-04T06:22:46Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I read that 10 times and don’t have a clue what it means. It means he’s blaming the wrong thing. Bob’s obesity doesn’t make **Mswas** worse off unless the government decides to force **Mswas** help to pay Bob’s doctors bill against his will. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/17 "2009-10-04T07:16:24Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I oppose it. At least sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco can be justified as paying for the negative externalities they cause. The same is not true of soft drinks. I’ll see if I can dig up my cite, but according to the article, smokes actually SAVE the country money, as they tend to die 10 years sooner, more than compensating for any additional medical attention they may have needed in the interim. ETA: Here we go: [The Skeptical OB: Keep smoking, die early, save money](http://skepticalob.blogspot.com/2009/04/keep-smoking-die-early-save-money.html) As for the OP, I’m opposed to all sin-taxes, and feel that those against smokers (I am not one, incidentally) should be abolished. ---
**Author:** ![badlyburnttoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@badlyburnttoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badlyburnttoast)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/18 "2009-10-05T03:45:41Z")
I oppose ‘sin’ taxes in general - I don’t think the government should decide what’s best for you. So I’m against it as a matter of principal. Of course I don’t drink very much soda anymore, and I’ve pretty much accepted the nanny state will get bigger and more invasive so I’m pretty resigned about it. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/19 "2009-10-05T13:40:03Z")
Don’t care about the issue in the same respect as everyone one. _Taxes_ are bad, plain and simple. While we do have to have a national income, the this-and-that-and-that-thing-there approach is insane. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460/20 "2009-10-05T15:49:41Z")
Sin taxes are disgusting. This is nanny state social engineering bullshit brought on by the inability of Obama and Congress to bring UHC under the budget set down by his $250,000 campaign promise. If UHC and other programs are deemed worthy, they should be funded by income tax dollars. This sneaky sin taxing crap is a way to stick it to the entire population while trying to look concerned and benevolent. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugary-drink-tax/512460.md?page=2)