Soda Pop: a controlled substance

Like any expensive habit, be ready to sacrifice for it. Or find a black market dealer. Your Mr.Pibb might cost you more than your stomach lining. Obama is considering a soda tax as a way to pay for his incredibly brilliant and thoroughly organized plan of Universal Health Care.
I find comfort in knowing our President is campaigning, along with his wife, for an entire reconfiguration of our health care without having a way to finance it. That's how I live my life. I go to the grocery store without cash, load up my shopping cart, then hit up other people for the money to pay for it.
I ate on a piece of Hubba Bubba gum for three weeks, once.

Since alternative media is becoming the only media still working, here's a great article from The University of Dayton's student newspaper, Flyer News, by reporter Jessica Ledbetter.
Any interlaced sarcastic comments are solely mine.

Will Soda Pop Tax Pick Your Pocket?
Obama Suggests Taxing Soft Drinks To Decrease U.s. Health Care Costs

September 17, 2009
President Obama is stirring up negative public sentiments by toying with the idea of putting a tax on soda to lower the cost of health care.
Although he is correct in the correlation between soda and obesity, there are numerous other factors raising health care costs in America, and a tax on soda alone would not be able to cover these rising fees.

Your addiction to Mellow Yellow might save a life.

"By itself it would probably not really directly impact health care costs because there are so many other foods in addition to pop that has had an impact on the increase in obesity in the country," said political science professor Don Vermillion. "If you really want impact on health care you would probably attack not just pop but snack foods in addition. Also, the Center for Disease Control talks about how it's not just food and drink we have a problem with but lack of exercise, which impacts obesity and health care costs."

Who said he was finished? Expect the Pork Rind tax, Little Debbie tax, Twizzler tax, and of course, individual tax increases on items like graham crackers, the culprits behind S'mores.

Professor of dietetics Fran Angelo agrees, poses the question why tax one obesity factor and leave out the other?
"How about doughnuts and chips? Will these be taxed someday?" Angelo said. "This becomes a philosophical dilemma that each person must resolve in their own mind."

Do I want my child to go to college? Or do I want a bag of Doritos?

One potential reason Obama targeted the soda pop industry was the possibility that the public would accept this tax the same way they accepted tax on alcohol.
"Because beer has been taxed over the years, the thought may be that since people have accepted tax on beer and alcohol that maybe tax on soda pop would be something the public could accept if there was a feeling it could reduce rising health care bills in country," Vermillion said.

No more driving around with open Root Beer containers. You pop it, the police stop it.

But comparing the pros and cons resulting on the American public from this tax show that the biggest hit would be to lower income households. In these economically challenging times this is not what citizens are looking for.
"Already they've had spokesmen saying how damaging of an impact this would be on the soda industry and making a big case that the people most hit by this would be those with lower incomes," Vermillion said. "Therefore it would not be a wise way to fund health care initiatives."

I wouldn't worry about the word "wise" when talking about the government.

Along with hurting lower-class budgets, Obama's potential soda pop tax, known by many as a "sin tax," has American citizens upset for one main reason: the word tax.

Or the word "sin", which I thought meant adultery, murder, thievery, lying. Who knew God meant ordering Dr. Pepper with your enchiladas.

The deal Obama made with Americans was a promise of no new taxes and proposing this idea seems to counter that.

That's because Obama's statement had an expiration date, Nov. 4, 2008.

Yet all this conflict may be trivial considering this is one of many proposals Obama has developed to lower health care costs.
"I think he's trying to find any way that he can to fund the health care proposal being debated in Washington," Vermillion said. "And I'm thinking this was an idea that he threw out to see what kind of reaction there would be.
"I don't think he has even thought this through; he just threw it out as one idea, but there are number of ideas being floated around in Washington as to how we pay for this new health care proposal being discussed," Vermillion said. "No one has an easy answer, and they don't want to increase the deficit, so they're trying to find new ways to come up with funding sources to not make the deficit worse."

No answer. No ideas on how to fund it. Let's buy it! I drink water.