Congress taxing soda?

[Panzer_God]

One of the ways the Obama administration is considering paying for their healthcare initiative is a tax on naturally sweetened soda and alcoholic beverages. The basis for the argument is that sugary sodas cause obesity which drive up healthcare costs. I wonder two things, 1) Why would you tax my soda? and 2) Why is artificially sweetened soda exempt?

 

[Dynex811]

We have naturally sweetened soda?

Edit: Oh and it's not the Obama administration, it's the Patterson administration of New York. So yeah.....

 

[Travdelosmuertos]

One of the ways the Obama administration is considering paying for their healthcare initiative is a tax on naturally sweetened soda and alcoholic beverages. The basis for the argument is that sugary sodas cause obesity which drive up healthcare costs. I wonder two things, 1) Why would you tax my soda? and 2) Why is artificially sweetened soda exempt?

Because things like Coke Zero use splenda or other sugar alternatives that are calorie free. The problem with soda (it's pop, damn it!) is that it ruins your teeth, so it really should be an all or nothing deal.

 

[Alex_P]

High-fructose corn syrup is natural in the same sense that botox is natural.

-- Alex

 

[Panzer_God]

apparently so. I think it's just ones with a high sugar content, the press release was worded very weirdly

 

[SilentHunter7]

Because artificially sweetened soda is made with Splenda, and other products made by corporations / sources for potential political contributions.

 

[G. Alarimm]

I didn't know they sweetened sodas naturally. This is news to me.

 

[Alex_P]

Because artificially sweetened soda is made with Splenda, and other products made by corporations / sources for potential political contributions.

Unlike the corn lobby? Come one!

I didn't know they sweetened sodas naturally. This is news to me.

Some grocery-store generic brand soft drinks and some imported products are sweetened with just plain regular sugar. Not the big-brand stuff, though.

-- Alex

 

[A random person]

Wait, they're trying to tax naturally sweetened soda made in the land of nonexistent fairies and not artificial soda which is worse for you?

I'm pretty indifferent myself as I'm one of those anomalies in my species that doesn't like soda. Tried it at a party when quite young, stung my mouth, tried a few times periodically, never appealed to me.

 

[Frizzle]

Because artificially sweetened soda is made with Splenda, and other products made by corporations / sources for potential political contributions.

Unlike the corn lobby? Come one!

I didn't know they sweetened sodas naturally. This is news to me.

Some grocery-store generic brand soft drinks and some imported products are sweetened with just plain regular sugar. Not the big-brand stuff, though.

-- Alex

Coca-Cola outside the US is usually sweetened with just regular (cane?) sugar. I think Pepsi is supposed to be doing it with Pepsi and Mountain Dew before too long.

Mostly it's just America that usues the artificial sweeteners.

 

[scotth266]

Grrr. Well, watch the soda prices rise in response to this. I mean, we don't need more taxes: we need effective money management!

 

[LanaFalls]

if they tax soda/pop it should be the artificially (ex. aspartame, etc.) sweetened kind. studies have been done linking them to increased weight gain/obesity over drinking regularly sweetened kinds. something about how the fake sweeteners screw with your bodys natural response to sweet (processing calories) and it no longer does that, it ignores the cue so you start to process less calories. hence the weight gain.

 

[SilentHunter7]

Because artificially sweetened soda is made with Splenda, and other products made by corporations / sources for potential political contributions.

Unlike the corn lobby? Come one!

-- Alex

Well, the corn lobby already has congress blowing otherwise useful money on the ethanol pipe dream. Also, doesn't HFCS fall under artificial as well?

 

[Cocal]

I didn't know they sweetened sodas naturally. This is news to me.

I'm with this guy.
Also Why not just legalize Pot ( I know I'm getting in to a WHOLE NEW TOPIC/ ARGUMENT) but if they did (and I'm not a user of it) they would make 80 million a year in taxes like they do with Cig's and that means if we break even every year we would be out of debt in 2021.

 

[JMeganSnow]

Because artificially sweetened soda is made with Splenda, and other products made by corporations / sources for potential political contributions.

Unlike the corn lobby? Come one!

I didn't know they sweetened sodas naturally. This is news to me.

Some grocery-store generic brand soft drinks and some imported products are sweetened with just plain regular sugar. Not the big-brand stuff, though.

-- Alex

Actually, this isn't true, Pepsi has started producing "throwback" Pepsi and Mt. Dew that are sweetened with cane sugar like the popular Jones Natural Sodas.