Posted on 05/12/2009 2:35:48 AM PDT by PghBaldy
Senate leaders are considering new federal taxes on soda and other sugary drinks to help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health-care system.
The taxes would pay for only a fraction of the cost to expand health-insurance coverage to all Americans and would face strong opposition from the beverage industry. They also could spark a backlash from consumers who would have to pay several cents more for a soft drink.
On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee is set to hear proposals from about a dozen experts about how to pay for the comprehensive health-care overhaul that President Barack Obama wants to enact this year. Early estimates put the cost of the plan at around $1.2 trillion. The administration has so far only earmarked funds for about half of that amount.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based watchdog group that pressures food companies to make healthier products, plans to propose a federal excise tax on soda, certain fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and ready-to-drink teas. It would not include most diet beverages. Excise taxes are levied on goods and manufacturers typically pass them on to consumers.
Senior staff members for some Democratic senators at the center of the effort to craft health-care legislation are weighing the idea behind closed doors, Senate aides said.
The Congressional Budget Office, which is providing lawmakers with cost estimates for each potential change in the health overhaul, included the option in a broad report on health-system financing in December. The office estimated that adding a tax of three cents per 12-ounce serving to these types of sweetened drinks would generate $24 billion over the next four years. So far, lawmakers have not indicated how big a tax they are considering.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Post 21 parody
Not everyone is OBESE. Some people are underweight and need more fat and sugar to keep going. Nannystatism is not what founding fathers were aiming for.
me too, but what happens when people cannot afford to pay these fees and stop using products?
Of course that industry suffers, more people out of work, deeper recession etc. but they have to keep the programs going ..
what to tax next????
Well that is good for you, but you know damn well that there will be more taxes heaped upon us after this too.
It can’t end, and if more people stop using these products then they will have to tax things that more people use.
He will eventually catch something you use and make you pay through the nose for it.
where didja hear that? I roll my own and this is good for me I guess..
And sport drinks, too. They are specifically engineered to not be sugary. As any good old overreaching tax this one is already on its way to make playing sports harder, therefore worsening health conditions.
Das Gut, meinherr. Wunderbar.
if say, every office toilet in the country needed a quarter to use, we’d be in the black in no time.
Wasser feels so good, says Froggie.
>>Without a squeak from the public!!!
A buddy of mine was complaining about the hike.
I asked, didja vote for the man, knowing he had.
When he admitted, yes, I said then STFU.
You got what you wanted. HAHAHA!
I think one of the best strategies conservatives can employ at this time is to sit back and wait for libs to start squirming (like your buddy) and then put it right back in their faces (like you did).
>>schadenfreude
OH YES SIR! What simple and nourishing joy!
His expression was, not quite priceless, but nonplussed and a general “huh” in the headlights look.
Better get used to it, buddyboy, wait til the whole capntrade hikes up the cost of everything!
You wanna go green, well, Obie’s gonna take yer green.
Don’t you feel wholesome and earthfriendly now. He told me to shut up soon thereafter!
ROTFLOL If you can’t beat ‘em, laugh at ‘em. When the libs start feeling the pinch you can say “I feel for you but I can’t quite reach. The sympathy tax reduced my arm length too much.”
the myth is that congress assumes people will not change behavior when the price goes up. wrong! as the price goes up, people will reduce consumption and substitute other porducts.
don’t laugh about the TV tax - the British have had that one for a long time. we already pay a hidden TV tax on our cable bills. and a cellphone tax.
as deficits increase the feds will be looking to tax anything and everything.
I saw it myself at the local tobacco store.
Governor Paterson proposes 'Obesity Tax,' a tax on non-diet sodasGov. 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... 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... 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.
by Glenn Blain and Kenneth Lovett
with Edgar Sandoval and Erica Pearson
Daily News Albany Bureau
Sunday, December 14th 2008
[and now, the buried lead:] 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.
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