statist, social engineer Paterson proposes 18% tax on soda

[Matt Damon™]

Outlaw HFCS, end all sugar tarriffs/subsidies to corn growers and move everyone to apartments in the cities.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Outlaw HFCS, end all sugar tarriffs/subsidies to corn growers and move everyone to apartments in the cities.

Hell yes.

[Matt Damon™]

Can we like do a 1 for 1 trade of white yuppies/socially meddling protestants(of both left(yes BRTD this means you) and right) for latin to become citizens?

[Neinrein]

Remember the proposed law in the Mississippi legislature to make it illegal for restaurants to serve fat people? LOL.

Honestly, it should have passed. If a restaurant serves a morbidly obese person regularly, that obese person suddenly has a heart attack, and that restaraunt is in a part of the state I don't have to live in, then you better believe I will be up there first thing willing to take the case against that restauraunt, because the average Mississippi juror is overweight, believes they can't help it, and as of now, I'd be able to get a very generous settlement out of it, without question the establishment would have to go under, because this is one of those godsend suits.

That law would have protected the establishments in question, they'll begin to realize this once the suits start popping up in some of our better judicial areas of the state like Jefferson, Hinds and Noxubee

But it should have passed because too many people in this state are fat. I suspect that as the fat children grow into obese adults, a wealth of cases will be filed in courts in Mississippi against candy makers. It's honestly the parents fault for letting them have all that candy.


And what is wrong with children having to be a certain age to purchase a soda. My teenager can't just drive over to Slidell and buy a lottery ticket. Can't purchase a rifle till he's 18. You know, we have these laws for a reason, because children are children and they don't know better, and as for teenagers, all teenagers are temporary sociopaths anyway.

I honestly think once we have a national health insurance (not national health care, because if the government provides the medical care, harder to sue for malpractice), we should give tax credits to those with healthy lifestyles, or conversely, tax penalties to those without them.


If you believe tobacco taxes are justified, then you cannot logically say that soda taxes aren't

[dead0man]

I smell a sock for some reason.

[© tweed]

are things such as these, a reflection on us?  on our lack of real things to worry about?  you don't see governments in countries where people can't get enough food pulling this sh**t.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Remember the proposed law in the Mississippi legislature to make it illegal for restaurants to serve fat people? LOL.

Honestly, it should have passed. If a restaurant serves a morbidly obese person regularly, that obese person suddenly has a heart attack, and that restaraunt is in a part of the state I don't have to live in, then you better believe I will be up there first thing willing to take the case against that restauraunt, because the average Mississippi juror is overweight, believes they can't help it, and as of now, I'd be able to get a very generous settlement out of it, without question the establishment would have to go under, because this is one of those godsend suits.

Uh, even obese people need to eat. If you put an obese person on a starvation diet, they'll before they get thin. That idea basically says that obese people should never, f**king ridiculous.

[memphis]

I don't see what all the fuss is about. Every state taxes cigarettes. This is a similar measure.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

BTW the main reason to oppose an age limit to buy soda: It would effectively end soda machines!

[Jacobtm]

I can't believe so many people oppose this kind of stuff, it's such a basic economic principal...

Public health problems create huge costs (negative externalities) for governments and society, especially NY, which has the most generous state Medicaid program in the country. If fewer unhealthy substances are consumed by the public, the state will save money, public health will improve, and medicare can provide more help out people who really need it. As a NY resident whose taxes help care for people whose unwise eating habits put them in ill health, I fully support "sin taxes" on such unhealthy food.

[Matt Damon™]

It's not the state's role to pay for people's health costs.

[Jacobtm]

It's not the state's role to pay for people's health costs.

Do you know any children with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, paraplegia, or any other such debilitating condition? Treatment for these conditions costs alot, and unless a family is quite wealthy, they will be unable to pay for it. Whether you want to pay for fat people's bills is one thing, but there are many legitimate areas for the state to pay for health care costs, unless you advocate infanticide for those with congenital defects.

[Neinrein]

BTW the main reason to oppose an age limit to buy soda: It would effectively end soda machines!

You know, we used to have cigarette machines too. Cigarette machines actually used to be every where. They got rid of them because kids shouldn't smoke and the machines were making it too easy for them to, so now you only see them in bars. Why should soda machines recieve the protection that cigarette machines didn't

[Matt Damon™]

I think we should have cigarette machines.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Because soda doesn't give you cancer, and there is no equivalent to second-hand smoke, you can stand next to someone there is no effect on you at all. And I'd hate not to be able to easily get it from a machine at work, and because currently there is no age limit thankfully and that won't pass because most people aren't control freaks who want government dominating our lives more.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Maybe I could live with some extra tax on soda (though I oppose the very existence of the sales tax on principle), but 18% is outrageous.

[Eraserhead]

Paterson has done nothing but annoy the hell out of me lately.

[Jacobtm]

     Maybe I could live with some extra tax on soda (though I oppose the very existence of the sales tax on principle), but 18% is outrageous.

Obviously Paterson is trying to get some extra money for the state budget, but the point of putting a tax specifically on things like soda is to dissuade people from drinking it. Any tax that would seem "reasonable" to soda drinkers wouldn't affect their behavior, so to make an impact, you've got to raise the tax to a point that will make some people choose another option.

For what it's worth, Paterson has said that he only expects the new tax to reduce soda consumption by 5%.  For people who drink alot of soda in their homes it shouldn't matter; 2 liter bottles of soda can easily be had for less than $1. Where this will probably have an impact is on the sales of single-servings of soda in 12 oz. cans or 20 oz. bottles, since those usually cost at least $1 and even a price increase of 20-30 cents could make other beverages (water, juice, tea etc.) more competitive.

[Jacobtm]

I think we should have cigarette machines.

You've never seen them? I guess they're illegal or something now, but I've seen taverns that have cigarette vending machines that look like they're from the 70's, complete with wood panelling.

[dead0man]

It's not the state's role to pay for people's health costs.

..and when they do there will be a LOT more taxes (and probably worse) like this.  It will hurt poor people much more than everybody else.  Who cares if it's against the law to eat a french fry, as long as our medical care is free!

[Хahar 🤔]

It's not the state's role to pay for people's health costs.

..and when they do there will be a LOT more taxes (and probably worse) like this.  It will hurt poor people much more than everybody else.  Who cares if it's against the law to eat a french fry, as long as our medical care is free!

I fail to see how correctly progressive taxes hurt the poor most.

[Bacon King]

Ahh yes the old "more taxes during an economic downturn" tactic.  Brilliant!

economic downturn that brings govt spending into the red + balanced budget requirements = lots of states are going to be raising taxes and kinda don't have any other choice

I agree with what Nate Silver says, if he has to raise taxes it'd be more politically astute to just raise income or general sales taxes. This'll just piss people off more.

The Chosen One does policy commentary, too? Oh, great! Well, now we know which side of every debate is correct!

Why do you have such a vendetta against that guy, man?

[dead0man]

It's not the state's role to pay for people's health costs.

..and when they do there will be a LOT more taxes (and probably worse) like this.  It will hurt poor people much more than everybody else.  Who cares if it's against the law to eat a french fry, as long as our medical care is free!

I fail to see how correctly progressive taxes hurt the poor most.

They don't....but that's not what we're talking about here.  Try and keep up.  How is a tax on various unhealthy activities progressive?

[dead0man]

Ahh yes the old "more taxes during an economic downturn" tactic.  Brilliant!

economic downturn that brings govt spending into the red + balanced budget requirements = lots of states are going to be raising taxes and kinda don't have any other choice

They could cut spending.  It has it's own drawbacks of course, but it needs to be done anyway.  Now is as good a time as any.

[Neinrein]

Liberals will support your freedom of choice if you want to abort your baby, but not if you want to buy a soda.

How is passing a tax taking away your freedom. He's not proposing restricting certain folks from buying them (which I as a conservative southern Dixiecrat am). I think abortion should be a state decision and my state would ban it, but I feel that until it reverts back to the state, we have every right to impose a 1000% tax on all abortions as not only a method of discouragement but as a way to raise captive revenue. Abortion clinics aren't exactly deserving of respect as genuine medicine because most of their physicians are medical school rejects