Headline: Governor Paterson proposes 'Obesity Tax,' a tax on non-diet sodas.
Call me crazy, but I do not think that charging a tax on non-diet soda is going to solve the obesity crisis.
Nor will it solve our economy. This tax is also not fair. Plenty of healthy people consume a few regular sodas once in a while. If you want to add an all-soda tax, while still being silly, at least it is fair. The non-diet soda tax discriminates against those who do not like or cannot consume artificial sweeteners. Surveys show that 1 in 10,000 individuals have a condition known as phenylketonuria, and cannot metabolize the phenylalanine found in some diet sodas.
I am not a big soda fan myself. I know that many recent studies have shown that the artificial sweeteners in diet soda can cause sugar cravings, headaches, digestion disruption and bloating. Not to mention the fact that while FDA approved, diet soda is essentially a sugar-chemical containing beverage. And the less chemicals we put into our bodies, the better.
My advice to the government? I am less in favor of taxing unhealthy-minded people and more in favor of giving positive recognition to healthy individuals. I don't know how, but if the government is really concerned about the public's well being, they might look into a little positive feedback to go along with their new tax ideas. Taxing soda is a quick fix, that I do not believe really fixes anything in the long term.
Read the complete story in the NY Daily News:
Governor Paterson proposes 'Obesity Tax,' a tax on non-diet sodas
12/16/08 10:11 AM
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