Soda Pop

November 30, 2012
Soda Pop
More and more young people are experiencing hypertension and childhood obesity, and because of which are seemingly becoming more prone to various diseases (Should Government Tax Sugary Drinks?). Many take a stand on the issue, as New York for example no longer allows the use of trans fats in their restaurants. Still the cost of unhealthy food has remained nearly the same, while the cost of a high yield diet has soared beyond that of the rate of inflation (Should Government Tax Sugary Drinks?). The idea has been presented that the government place a tax on unhealthy food, such as America’s favorite – soda pop! Various valid points have been made in relation to how this “sin” tax could help to benefit our financial deficit and better influence the people (A Tax That Invests in Our Health). Others object, saying that the tax is a form of discrimination, separating us about our assumed character and wellbeing (Does This Tax Make Me Look Fat?). Though the answer seems so clear to some at first how to go about imposing such taxes, it is important that the complexity of the situation is recognized to see if the tax would be effective enough to be worthwhile.
Taxing the population in prospect of raising money to go towards our government has many different sides, but just how effective would it be to make an extra profit from soda, and where exactly the money would be used most effectively. It Casebook it is stated “A recent study by Cornell University, for example, indicated that the annual cost of treating obesity is now $168 billion. That amounts to 16.5 percent of the country’s total medical care expenses” (Should Government Tax Sugary Drinks?). Despite even the most creative ideas such as Jan Brewer’s proposition to charge all overweight Medicaid patients and additional annual fee of fifty dollars, the taxes and fees could not begin to pay for people to administrate them, never the less cause any significant impact on our financial deficit (Does This Tax Make Me Look Fat?). Others argue back that the tax is sought to be an inconvenience to the poor (Let Them Drink Water!) As the commonality of being overweight shifts from the wealthy, to the un-wealthy in some places, trends begin to contradict the normal coherence between social class and weight (Is the Burden of Overweight). Those who think so are often struck back with comments as to how the truly poor also benefit from the taxes they pay themselves (Let Them Drink Water!).
So perhaps a state decided they were going to tax the American population in relevance to their diet. Rather than using the money towards the general population, it would be appropriate that the money gained by taxing, whether each ounce be taxed a penny or each overweight person five thousand pennies, it need be used in such a way that the people could see the effects such as to organizations promoting good health. One may not think it is fair to tax the general population because some people do not abuse sodas and other sugary foods, but others would argue that the individual large people should be the ones hearing about this tax. Low income families, such as African Americans and foreigners would be expected to be affected by the tax, often reach for the most inexpensive products. It is unsure whether we could expect this to decrease the rate at which the people buy sodas, and just how much of a tax would cause them to lean the other way. It is said in an Article by Health Affairs
“We find that existing taxes on soda, which are typically not much higher than 4 percent in grocery stores, do not substantially affect overall levels of soda consumption or obesity rates. We do find, however, that subgroups of at-risk children-children who are already overweight, come from low-income families, or are African Americanmay be more sensitive than others to soda taxes, especially when soda is available at school. A greater impact of these small taxes could come from the dedication of the revenues they generate to other obesity prevention efforts rather than through their direct effect on consumption.”
It’s hard to find a medium at which everyone would be happy. Healthy people do not want to be taxed to pay for something irrelevant to them, and overweight people could possibly benefit from the tax while others say it is being used against them.