Appleton Post Crescent Editorial
June 16, 2009

One day, that fountain soda you sip at work or the six-pack of Coke you buy for your kids may cost you more.

But it’s for your own good, according to some lawmakers, who are looking at instituting a federal tax on sugary drinks to pay for the mammoth health care overhaul.

The idea is that Americans will cut down on sodas that have been linked to obesity. But where do you draw the line? Will Twinkies be next? Bacon and eggs?

Yes, Congress has to figure out a way to pay for the estimated $1.2 trillion health care plan, but taxing soda an estimated 3 cents on a 12-ounce drink, along with other sugary beverages, seems like an arbitrary way to achieve that end.

Not only would sodas be taxed but also sports drinks, energy drinks, ready-to-drink tea and fruit drinks. Diet drinks, however, would be exempt from the tax.

Taxing soda doesn’t follow the same argument as the “sin tax” for tobacco and alcohol, which can lead to serious addictions.

Instead of adding a new tax, let’s encourage Congress to look at spending cuts as a way to pay for health care reform.

After all, it’s unlikely that anyone is going to stop drinking sugar-filled sodas for an extra 3 cents a pop. But once a tax hike like this is in place, just about anything else we put into our bodies is game.

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To read the original article, go to: http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20090616/APC0602/906160517.