“Count the Day Won When, Turning on Its Axis …”
“This earth imposes no additional taxes.” So wrote the prescient Franklin P. Adams.
The proposed soda tax is all over the media; here is a good summary article in the New York Times.
It’s interesting that no one suggests a soda buyback. Buybacks, I’ve been told, get guns off the streets. So, why not sodas? Because people would just go out and buy more sodas? Maybe they could do that with guns, too …
The buyback thought experiment illustrates that a soda tax is not really about saving people from the dangers of soda, power drinks, and fruit juice. If that were the goal, there are many possible avenues to reduce soda consumption other than buybacks, such as public service messages (like the ads in New York City) or soda-free zones around schools. The main purpose of a soda tax is to generate revenue.
If the tax passes, I wonder how long it will take before legislators call for a soda tax holiday?
People trying to change other people’s minds about what’s good or bad is what culture and society are all about. The problem is when tax dollars are used for the mind-changing activities. What if you don’t agree with statements like “people should avoid sugary soft drinks”? Or you just don’t like the idea of your own tax dollars putting pictures of nasty fat on posters around town? Besides, tissues besides fat look gross too, if you gaze beneath the epidermis, but people don’t often think about that when they see a disgusting picture before them.
Changing people’s minds about things you believe in is a noble pursuit. Using tax dollars to do so removes all nobility and renders the whole activity questionable.
I would be surprised if you disagree with me, Sarah, but the ads in NY were particularly offensive to me, I guess.
Comment by Josh Smith — September 25, 2009 @ 11:13 a.m.
I agree; I just mentioned those ads to point out that politicians prefer a tax to other means of discouraging soda consumption that don’t bring in revenue. I don’t want to hold up those ads as an example of great policy.
Comment by Sarah Brodsky — September 25, 2009 @ 11:28 a.m.