The good news is that this won't be going national any time soon. There are still a lot of liberal politicians who have no intention of getting behind any obesity tax.
Posted on 12/15/2008 9:52:33 AM PST by presidio9
A can of Coke could soon cost New Yorkers more than just calories.
Gov. Paterson, as part of a $121 billion budget to be unveiled Tuesday, will propose an "obesity tax" of about 15% on nondiet drinks.
This means a Diet Coke might sell for a $1 - even as the same size bottle of its calorie-rich alter ego would go for $1.15.
Paterson's budget also calls for a 3% cut in education spending, a $620-a-year tuition hike at SUNY and a $600 increase at CUNY - and about $3.5 billion in health care cuts, a source said.
The Democratic governor will not call for a broad-based income tax boost, but he will push to restore the sales tax on clothing and footwear.
The drastic belt-tightening comes as lawmakers struggle to close a $15 billion deficit this year and next.
"It's painful to make these decisions," Paterson said Sunday.
State employees again will be asked to forgo their 3% raises next year and defer five days' pay until they leave their jobs, the source said. In all, Paterson will propose about $9 billion in cuts, $4 billion in new taxes and fees, and $1.5 billion in nonrecurring revenue, a second source said.
The so-called obesity tax would generate an estimated $404 million a year. Milk, juice, diet soda and bottled water would be exempt from the tax.
"I'll just buy less," said Victor Lopez, 55, of Manhattan, as he drank a Coke at a midtown Subway store.
"I don't like to buy Diet Coke," said Amaury Garcia, 16, who works at a flower shop in Penn Station. "I'll just not buy any sodas if it goes up."
Public health advocates welcomed news of the tax, saying it would help the fight against childhood obesity.
"Raising the price of this liquid candy will put children and teens on a path to a healthier diet," said Elie Ward of the American Academy of Pediatrics of New York State.
The Paterson administration also announced steps yesterday to expand the state's social services net, including a 30% increase in welfare payments over three years starting January 2010, increased money for food banks and expanded access to the state's Family Health Plus program.
Paterson also hopes to make it easier for people to enroll in Medicaid by eliminating face-to-face interviews and fingerprinting requirements.
NY needs a stupidity tax ... they could generate trillions from Manhattan alone.
WHAT A CROCK OF CRAP...PING!!
Paterson also hopes to make it easier for people to enroll in Medicaid by eliminating face-to-face interviews and fingerprinting requirements.
Now there's a cost-cutting measure, for sure...
Can’t this guy SEE that people do not want more taxes?
Maybe they should do the tax on the other end...like a liposuction tax.
This article is so infused with liberalese, I don’t know where to start.
I always have an unpleasant aftertaste if I try one of those.
Amazing...........and just yesterday I was asked why I never had any desire to move back to NY.
A tax on anyone with the last name of Paterson!
Especially ridiculous in light of health problems related to diet drinks.
Still waiting for a sudden outbreak of sanity...
Yes, he’d prefer everyone get diabetes from artificial sweeteners.
The good news is that this won't be going national any time soon. There are still a lot of liberal politicians who have no intention of getting behind any obesity tax.
Yup........tax the people while they are down. Really helps the country. All they are doing is insuring their own salaries.
As a refugee from the People's Demorkratik Worker's Paradise of New York, it is hard for me to imagine why someone would pose such a silly question...
“Lord, please save and deliver me from the do-gooders!”
Hmm...so we hassle merchants and tax soda, but not calorie-filled coffee drinks and sugary juice. Maybe we should tax fat slobs for offending my aesthetic sensibility as I walk down te street? Better yet, how about a tax on liberal stupidity?
Funny... every fatso I see orders diet soda... like it somehow makes up for all the rest of their over eating.
IMO this kind of stuff is just arrogance on his part. He should consider himself lucky that he hasn’t inherited a weight problem.
Obviously the only fat he’s got is between his ears.
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