Closing Arguments: Soft Drink Tax a Nanny State?

I think Governor Patterson has a great idea on the sugar tax idea.. Too many parents let their kids drink lots of pop.

I download music all the time from iTunes for when I work out. So explain to me how taxing my download “helps” me stay healthy? Give me a break!

first i don’t like the name of the tax !!! I find it insulting.What rite does the government have to tell you what u can drink.Regular pop in moderation will not hurt in my opinion.I am wondering what the soft drink makers think of this foolish tax.I am over weight i do drink diet pop. But it took a long time to get used to the taste.If this tax is going to go threw i suggest he find a different name for this foolish tax.

i think it is a very healthy idea.

The only reason people are opposing it is because we’re too cheap to pay the extra cash for the LUXURY of having soft drinks. Nobody needs pop, and regular pop is particularly bad for one’s health, but because it tastes better than a glass of water we think we’re entitled to lots of it at a low cost. This is not a nanny state mentality. Banning the sale of soft drinks or the amount per sale would be nanny state mentality. This is putting a tax on something unhealthy for us, so if you’re going to continue hurting yourself, at least something good will come of it. It’s no different than a tax on cigarettes or alcohol. People will still pay it, people will still buy regular pop. But maybe the number of people will cut back or the revenue generated from the tax will put a significant dent in the deficit, in which case at least something good is coming from our bad habits of indulging in junk food.

I object to tax on regular soda. To make us drink artificial soda that isn’t the real soda. I’m not obese and neither is anyone in the family. To tax something that is enjoyed by so many and to force us to buy cancer causing drinks is absurd. Tax the video games and the systems that keep kids from doing outdoor activities. I will be traveling to Vermont to get mine if he does pass this absurd tax.

I object to tax on regular soda. To make us drink artificial soda that isn’t the real soda. I’m not obese and neither is anyone in the family. To tax something that is enjoyed by so many and to force us to buy cancer causing drinks is absurd. Tax the video games and the systems that keep kids from doing outdoor activities. I will be traveling to Vermont to get mine if he does pass this absurd tax.

Consider the Gov of NY to be on a proactive path toward health conscience normalcy. For decades, the Boomers have permitted their succesive generations to leave the consumption of soft drink beverages unlimited; yet, we weren’t raised in a similar fashion. I recall a time when no more than a single soft drink was permitted during the week and no more than one per day on the weekend–if you were lucky enough to have a grandparent spot you one.

After all the bad things I’ve heard about high fructose corn syrup being used to sweeten soda I switched to diet soda.
However; with diet soda, a number of OTHER health issues have been reported, such as voice problems, poor digestion, allergies, liver function and adrenal fatigue.
Furthermore, in 2005, Sharon Fowler and her colleagues from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio presented eight years of research data that explored the link between obesity risk and soft drinks.
According to the WebMD summary of the study, Fowler’s team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64. Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese.
For regular soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:
* 26% for up to 1/2 can each day
* 30.4% for 1/2 to one can each day
* 32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day
* 47.2% for more than 2 cans each day.
For diet soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:
* 36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day
* 37.5% for 1/2 to one can each day
* 54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day
* 57.1% for more than 2 cans each day.
For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person’s risk of obesity went up 41%.
Honestly, would you prefer a beverage that contains CANE SUGAR or one with a warning on the label that reads: “Caution Phenylketonurics – contains phenylalanine!”
Does New York State REALLY want to force people to drink a specific kind of sweetener only to discover down the road that it’s on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit once it’s discovered how bad these diet soda chemicals are?
Tax ALL SODA EQUALLY or NO SODA. None of them are any good for you.

I am obese and DO NOT drink soda of any kind. I have several young friends who drink regular soda and are very thin. I don’t care whether or not a tax is imposed on soft drinks, but the tax should be on all soft drinks, candy and other non-essential food items. I DO OBJECT to calling the tax an obesity tax. Taxing such times will not stop obesity. Oh, by the way, studies show that diet soda is not good for weight loss and caffeine is a drug that interfers with insulin levels. Is this tax going to be on fast food, school lunches and the like? All institution food is really bad for children too (not to mention that most schools only give children a few minutes to eat–why do you think Europeans and other countries have less of an obesity problem? Most are given ample time to eat a healthy well-balanced meal.) Quick fixes never work either! Oh, by the way–I have lost 25 pounds since August with very little effort and I AM NOT ON A DIET! That is a four letter word! My favorite diet is “France.”

I’m all for taxing things that are bad for you health. Maybe it will help reduce the number of people drinking sodas. They need to increase the taxes on cigerettes and alcohol too!

What is wrong with this governor, and the idiots who agree with him? In case you didn’t know, diet drinks contain aspartame, the same as fake sugar, which causes cancer. Do you want to rot away sooner from cancer by drinking diet drinks, or die from being too fat? Either way your a goner and out of the gene pool!

I don’t think the tax on soft drinks is that bad of an idea. However, you can’t just make it on non-diet drinks. The tax should be on all beverages produced by Coca-cola, Pepsi, and the rest. To not tax them and say they are a basic food stuff that people need is ludicrous. I like a coke here and there but in excess is nuts. I know people that drink diet pepsi and end up drinking twice as much and then think its ok. But, the have a serious weight problem, boy go figure.I’m no health nut by any means and probably 25 lbs overweght but putting all that unnatural chemicals and sugars has bad side effects. Diabets, obesity, the damage they do to ones teeth, and not to memtion the possible links, of pouring all those chemicals into ones body that could point to cancer. Maybe a tax will make people think a little bit about the risk before buying 4 cases of pop a week.

One more short comment!
This attack on our beverages is just another way to make the tax payers of NY pay for the mismanagement of our tax dollars. Evidently our lovely state government has made some p?? poor investments and now we must oay again.

In principle, I don’t have an issue with Governor Paterson’s tax proposal, but what I do have a problem with is his arbitrary decision to limit this tax to non-diet soft drinks. Why does he and the rest of the general public feel that diet sodas are healthier compared to their sugared equivalent? If the governor intends to promote healthier eating habits, the tax should also include those food items which include artificial additives, growth hormones, high fat, high cholesterol, high sodium and other types of foods which contribute to an unhealthy American diet.

I think it is an awful idea! It’s not fair to single out diet sodas. Not everyone can drink diet soda and other diet beverages. I was told by my doctor that NutraSweet (found in diet sodas) is not good for you and told not to ever drink it- Why not tax the NutraSweet products? What about candy, cookies, ice cream? Why not potatoe chips, Fritos and Doritos? They’re not “good for you ” either. What about coffee, tea …… WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE?

My personal feeling on any “soda tax” is “it’s discrimination”. The main idea of keeping our children healthy by not drinking all sugar filled soda should be better regulated by parents. It was never like this years ago, back then parents (like myself) regulated what the children did online, what they ate, and what they drank and most of all how they were raised. (I could go on and on about that but this is about the “soda tax” and not how parents should be doing a better job of raising their children) An 18% tax on regular soda is total ridiculous!
A former New Yorker

I think this is a good tax, but a tax of this type should include all soft drinks, because diet drinks are also very unhealthy, if not even worse. Diet drinks that contain all artificial sweeteners, and even Splenda can cause very adverse health problems. This tax should also include any bottled or canned fruit drinks that contain corn syrup. Only whole fruit drinks that do not contain added sweeteners should be excluded. Due to false marketing we have been led to believe Diet drinks or artificial sweeteners are safe, which is completely false.
I really wish that the American News Networks would watch BBC and learn to report real news, and focus on real problems. Preventative Health and Medicine, the Environment, Fuel efficient technology of 35 to 50 mpg or greater, Wind Power, New advancements in Solar Energy. News that can really improve our lives.

The state of our state makes me sick! We are so overtaxed because so many of our citizens do not work for private enterprise, but for the state or town or county. There are far too many unnecessary jobs and programs that the taxpayers are paying for. That is the reason NY is in such a financial mess! Our property taxes are absurdly high and They have already taxed cigarettes, beer & gas to such a high percentage that they can’t do it anymore, so now the governor wants to go after diet soda!?! Unbelievable. They need to focus on the all too liberal “programs”

I do not agree on the tax on non-diet sodas. Some of us have low blood sugar and cannot drink diet sodas!

This tax is one of the most FOOLHARDY things I’ve ever heard of.
Four primary reasons:
1) Some people CANNOT DRINK diet sodas, due to their allergy to aspartame (the generic name of the chemical-based artificial sweetener used in diet drinks and many other sugar-free items). I happen to be one of those people, and I must be very careful — it’s a hospital trip for me if I ingest even a few sips of a “diet” product containing this chemical.
2) It has been proven by *medical studies* that when aspartame becomes hot, its chemical composition breaks down — into ** FORMALDEHYDE **. In case you don’t recognize that, it’s the same stuff the embalmer at the funeral home fills you up with after you die. Do you know EXACTLY which warehouse in which part of the country, or on which parking lot in front of the convenience store, that 12-pack of diet soda sat in the heat…and for how long???
3) Why would so-called “energy” drinks (of which many are high on sugar) or “sports” drinks (which are *mostly* sugar) be excluded from this tax? Nowadays, most kids I know drink more of those than they drink sugared sodas. Also, what about drinks that are sweetened with things OTHER than sugar or aspartame (for instance, rice syrup or stevia) … would they qualify as “non-diet”? I think not, even though those sweeteners are FAR, FAR BETTER AND SAFER than either sugar or aspartame.
4) If this is directed solely to help children with their health as Mr. Paterson states, why are you taxing the *general public* when they purchase these items???
This tax makes absolutely no sense — unless you consider the HUGE budget deficit in the state of New York and the HUGE amount of money this would raise for the state’s coffers.
Then it all comes together.
Oh, and as an aside — “they’re going to come looking for the government officials that didn’t act at this time” ???? Does this sound like someone trying to sell their proposal by stirring fear in the hearts of people who want to COVER THEIR A$$, or what?

Im for it, but i dont think its really going to prevent any current soda drinkers from their purchase. If the idea is to stop people from harming their health, then they should go straight to the source and with some common sence the goverment should do that for everything that is harmful for us (polluntant producers, cigarettes, hormone additives, ect.)
You dont fill the bottle with pepsi for your new born do you? Unless you want him to get additicted or use to it.. Whos fault would that be? Why let it exist even?

Awwwwwwww Socialist taxes – Pharmaceutical Sales have done more to drive up the cost of healthcare than any other component in America – Viagra , Methadone , Oxycotin and etc….. Alcohol – Who lets these bars stay open to 5 and 6 am in the morning -Gun Companies don’t Outsourcing their jobs. Gambling such as the lottery and casinos destroy the working economy – Trying to impose a socialist taxation on products like sugar , oil , car exhaust , trans fat , mayonnaise , pie crust and butter is an act of desperation to recover from decades of bad political decisions that has left our nation bankrupt.

If they tax non diet soft drinks then they really need to look at taxing fast food chain restaurants. They are a good reason our country is so over weight. It all has to do with convience.

I think this tax is a great idea that should be adopted in all states. However, I don’t think that it should be limited to non-diet sodas. All sodas are unhealthy; especially for children, and maybe a tax will help overusers to practice moderation.

Read the comments of the foolish posted here. Liberal politicians tax away all of your rights and foolish sheep say “It’s great!” or “It’s needed”. Comments here prove that. Fools continue to vote for leftist politicians into office who declare everything is “unhealthy” then tax it out of existence. Happily, these fools will pay to the grave not realizing the rights are disappearing. Land of the free? Not! The government is growing and controlling you.

This is what liberals do. They love to rule an ever-growing nanny state that takes away individual choices and solidifies their power. As an expat living in China I have discovered that the chinese have many more freedoms than we do because their world has not been sanatized by nonsense like this.

I think that this tax is completely idiotic. There are very thin people out there that drink non-diet soda, and people out there that cannot for some reason or another, (allergies, etc) that cannot have the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas. So for the governor to call this an “Obesity tax” is ridiculous. He should be cutting costs in salaries and un-needed jobs in Albany, instead of taxing the common people who are already struggling to pay bills and feed their families. I have raised 3 children, all thin, and they don’t drink diet soda. It’s not fair to penalize everyone because of some overweight people, and not all of them are kids!!

This tax is just part of a broader trend to control Americans’ health and lifestyles.
And it will get worse if we adopt any form of “universal health care” system. In essence, it allows the government to argue that it’s paying for our dental bills, so it must tell us what we can eat and drink.
For more on this, please see the following piece in today’s Christian Science Monitor:
“Universal healthcare and the waistline police”
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0107/p09s01-coop.html
Or:
http://tinyurl.com/99wh94

Items that are life necessities should have no tax at all…such as over the counter meds, toilet paper, soap, vitamins, toothpaste, senior needs, GASOLINE, internet access, etc. There are plenty of things to tax to the max that you don’t need to live…junk food, movie tickets, sports, soda pop of any kind, candy, flowers, cars over $30,000, boats, fishing equipment, camping equipment, fur coats, jewelry, smoking items, designer furniture, homes over 2,000 sq ft, etc. Give consumers a break on the items they need everyday and let the tax burden fall on the 7 deadly sins!

As someone who cares about societal health concerns, I am pleased with the proposed tax on sodas and other sugary drinks. What I am very displeased about is the misnomer, “obesity tax”. I believe in the ultimate goal of healthy lifestyle choices, regardless of body shape or size. Focusing on fighting obesity instead of increasing healthiness does a disservice to fat & thin alike. It promotes discrimination against people who are fat, and masks the fact that people who are thin are still subject to the harms of overconsumption of sugary drinks. The healthier choice is to try to drink 6 to 8 cups of water each day, supplemented with 100% fruit juices and drinks that provide calcuim, such as dairy or soy milk. Sugary drinks, whether or not they result in weight gain, replace the consumption of those healthier drinks. Let’s keep our eyes on the true prize, because far more important than a non-obese society is a healthy one.

After reading all the comments …. this is just the governments way of creating more revenue. Anyone remember when we didn’t have to wear a seat belt under penalty of law? or when there were no cell phones for people to use while driving (more accidents on the roadways since then). The list goes on, it is MY choice in what I drink, whether I wear my seat belt or not, whether I wear a helmet while on the back of a motorcycle and MY choice to use a bluetooth headset with my cell phone instead of stepping on my brakes constantly while driving 40mph in a 65mph zone.
To the government in general, and particularly those of NY State … wake up! Make laws against dangerous practices (like wearing a bluetooth headset while driving)so that others are safe on the roads.
This is MY life to do as I see fit and control, NOT yours!
A bluetooth user and non-seatbelt wearing ex-New Yorker

Raising taxes on the backs of the obese or the tech savy ipod listeners is absurd. While Gov. Patterson is eager to go after the “sugar” in soda that is inflicting 1/4 kids with diabetes, does this mean he’ll next propose a tax on all sugar including every box of sugar that is produced at the Dominoe sugar factory in Yonkers, NY? Of course not, because that tax would possibly cause even more hardships on cash strapped NY by the lay offs of factory workers when the company compensates on the (possibly obese) backs of its workers. So instead the state will go after the obvious targets, Pepsi and Coke and other targets of a food industry long rediculed and blamed for unhealthy youth. Then again, I guess that’s the price you pay to do business in the world’s biggest city and and most lucrative state.

a small sacrifice to help solve a big problem. people who don’t agree, i call them selfish, and you see were being selfish landed us. people are thinking extreme like their civil liberties are being “threatened”. look, we DO have power as a people. if they wanted to implement something that sounds like a “natural progression of socialism” we vote no! we CAN vote for or against the issues, duh. new york has a high populous of poor people who have to depend on the government for certain social issues.(im sooo blue)the programs they can continue to fund may save YOUR life. Without jobs and assistant programs we Americans will do what we do best; ROB STEAL AND KILL!look, i know the politicians DON’T care about little fat johnny. his mommy will still buy him his soda. and guess what new york? some fat kids guilty pleasure can help balance your budget. stop trippin.