Soft drink makers, supermarket companies, agriculture and the fast-food business have poured millions into campaigning against what they fear could be a burgeoning national movement to raise money for health care reform by taxing sweetened beverages.
During the first nine months of 2009, the industry groups stepped up their lobbying in Congress. They have spent more than $24 million on the issue of a national excise tax on sweetened beverages and on other legislative and regulatory issues, according to an examination of lobbying reports filed with the Senate Office of Public Records. The review shows that 21 companies and organizations reported that they lobbied specifically on the proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages - which among other things would include sodas, juice drinks and chocolate milk.
About $5 million of the money was spent on a national advertising campaign aimed at Capitol Hill lawmakers and promoting a newly formed coalition called Americans Against Food Taxes . The group bills itself on its website as a coalition of "responsible individuals, financially-strapped families, [and] small and large businesses" but its 400-plus membership list is dominated by industry heavyweights such as Burger King Corporation, Coca Cola, Pepsico and Domino's Pizza.
Many health officials and advocacy groups have argued for years that sugary drinks, particularly those with high-fructose corn syrup, have been key contributors to a rise in obesity rates in the United States, especially among children. Some argue that the time is right for a soda tax, which they say could not only cut consumption but also generate revenue to close state budget gaps and pay for new health care programs.
A proposal for a national excise tax on soft drinks surfaced in a May funding policy options paper during the Senate Finance Committee's deliberations on health care reform. Food lobbyists attacked then and continued their efforts in July when President Obama raised the possibility of a soda tax in an interview with Men's Health magazine. The proposal has not emerged in any of the health care reform bills still in play on Capitol Hill.
But the issue may be gaining traction in some key states. This week, California lawmakers are holding a high-profile hearing in Los Angeles to examine the link between childhood obesity and sugary drinks. In New York, Gov. David Paterson has revived the idea of a sugared beverage tax after a previous proposal was shot down by the legislature earlier this year in the face of industry opposition.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/04/soda-tax-mobilizes-food-l_n_345840.html
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- News, Green, Current Tonight, News and Politics, 4 more
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- tags:
- Health Care, Congress, Taxes, Health Care Reform, 38 more + add
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- recommended by:
- current89
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- atomiclegion
- added this
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"financially strapped families" shouldn't be buying soda for their kids in the first place. last night i was on the subway and i saw a 3-year old drinking a mountain dew. there is a problem when a 2 liter of soda costs less than a gallon of skim milk or orange juice. tax the shit out of it
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Taxation of our products isn't the key to solving obesity or malhealth. We just need to raise children better and teach them to read nutrition labels and what the numbers on those labels mean.
If you or your children are obese then stop drinking soda, but just like the cigarette and alcohol tax this tax won't stop people from drinking this stuff. If anything it will hurt the economy, lower stocks like coca-cola and pepsi, and piss people who like to relax with a soda (example me) off.-
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- FishaHouse777
- 12 days ago
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I love how the government spends trillions of dollars on tax breaks, subsidies, research grants, and development assistance for large corporations and then taxes the consumers of those products because they don’t have enough money to fund social programs.
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Well.... We have plenty of options, here.
We could help the problem by just pulling back or eliminating the subsidies for corn in the country. This would have a similar effect and result in increased use of sugar over corn syrup. Sugar is good for you, anyway.
OR
We could tax corn syrup drinks at the super market.
We will have less bureaucracy if we just scale back subsidies.
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- CreditFigaro
- 12 days ago
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I'm sitting here with a 12fl oz (355mL) bottle of Ginger Ale with 35g of sugar in it.... over 10g of sugar per milliliter. That's a completely unnecessary amount of sugar that so many people are drinking and giving to kids, but unfortunately taxing soda probably isn't going to cure our addiction to high fructose corn syrup.
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I am a pothead I don't drink sodapops so Put a sin tax from hell on them I don't care However when are they going to tax my Herbs that I love so much That is the question that I want answered
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Tax the shit out of it!!!!!
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Tax the hell out of these products and direct the funds to fight your diabetes and heart problems you will have from over using such products.
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- kennymotown
- 12 days ago
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why dont people just drink water?
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I have a very healthy diet, but I still like to have a soda here and there. As long as the tax increase isn't anything astronomical, I don't think people will have a big problem with this.
What I've never understood is how products that are bad for you (in certain quantities) are heavily taxed, but products that are good for you are not made any less expensive. Is it unreasonable to introduce into the current health bill a stipulation that people who are healthier pay less than people who are unhealthy?
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Tax the shit out of soda to pay for healthcare! Lets make it expensive to eat unhealthy food.
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- extracrazykiwi2008
- 12 days ago
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How many more taxes will Americans tolerate? Clearly the statists (aka Torries) who frequent Current have no problem with more unnecessary taxes, but the vast majority of Americans are sick of irresponsible spending in Congress while taxing everything under the sun.
Whether or not something is good for my health is no concern of yours. I can make my own decisions on what products I put into my body.
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- libertyforall
- 12 days ago
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The majority of Americans said they would pay higher taxes for healthcare. Sit down!
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- kennymotown
- 12 days ago
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Soda's hella nasty and hella toxic anyways. Tax the hell out of it as far as I'm concerned. Tax the hell out of unhealthy food and we'll see less fat people. Oreos, Frito Lays, Mountain Dew, tax all that shee - shoot!
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I don't like this type of control. Educate people and let them choose what they consume.
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I support a soda tax.
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- Birdieball
- 12 days ago
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Does this mean there will be no tax on drinks sweetened only with artificial sweeteners? Cause those aren't good for you either. This tax is utter BS. I drink sugared soda almost weekly and I'm UNDERWEIGHT. Everything in moderation, people.
Also note that a tax only on sugared drinks is definitely a business gift to the zero-cal sweetener companies.
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I think this would be a good tax, provided the money is only used for the purpose of improving health. I think it is a bit tricky though, as where does one draw the line? Do you tax diet sodas which contain no sugar, but are probably just as bad? Do you tax the many cranberry juices and such that contain large quantities of high fruc. corn syrup and 10 or 20% juice? If you start taxing anything with HFCS do they just switch to regular sugar to avoid the tax, which doesn't really change the amount of calories? What about powdered drink mixes like coolaid and such - They don't contain sugar but do call for sugar to be added to them?
Wouldn't fast food be equally important to tax? What about high fat, non fast foods?
I guess if they just left it at soft drinks that would be a pretty simple measure. I just hope they don't tax my tonic water... MMMmmm gin and tonic.
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- good_stuff
- 11 days ago
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go right ahead tax it they do every thing else anyway!!!
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taxing soda because it's unhealthy.
I guess gov't really has started looking out for our best interests! lol.-
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- logicpocket
- 11 days ago
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High fructose corn syrup, sugar, and several fruit juices are all nutritionally the same.
High fructose corn syrup is simply a kind of corn sugar. It has the same number of calories as sugar and is handled the same by the body.
The American Medical Association stated that, “Because the composition of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose are so similar, particularly on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that high fructose corn syrup contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose.” http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/18641.shtml
According to the American Dietetic Association, “high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.” http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/nutrition_19399_ENU_HTML.htm
As many dietitians agree, all sugars should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle.
Consumers can see the latest research and learn more about high fructose corn syrup at www.SweetSurprise.com.
Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association-
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- Cornrefiner
- 11 days ago
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As michael pollan says, its not food, it's a food-like substance
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- advertisehere
- 8 days ago
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