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Philly is poised to be the first major city with a soda tax

Militant_Vegan_ said:
so naturally we must consume it. because it's there and people want us to.
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okay so lets take a family of four, a low income family, who does not live near or have access to a super grocery store. Other than water, there might be nothing cheap and healthy to drink, even orange juice which is usually the cheapest juice can be priced over $4/gallon. vs a sugary fruit flavored drink, or soda, that can cost less than a $1/gallon.

A major reason poor people eat and drink more sugary sodas isn't because theyre stupid :doh its because their cheaper and they might need that money for something else, increasing the cost of these drinks directly doesnt help anyone
 
dimensionallava said:
okay so lets take a family of four, a low income family, who does not live near or have access to a super grocery store. Other than water, there might be nothing cheap and healthy to drink, even orange juice which is usually the cheapest juice can be priced over $4/gallon. vs a sugary fruit flavored drink, or soda, that can cost less than a $1/gallon.

A major reason poor people eat and drink more sugary sodas isn't because theyre stupid :doh its because their cheaper and they might need that money for something else, increasing the cost of these drinks directly doesnt help anyone
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no one needs to drink soda. NO ONE

pretty weak argument. ever heard of iced tea, lemonade, etc.
 
So what? All any of us needs is water. But wants are okay too. And what I want is my own business. I'm a big girl and can make my own choices, and I made my kids' nutritional choices too. They still whine as young adults now that they never had anything good to eat at home because it was all "healthy." I actually did make all their baby food myself after I had accumulated enough Gerber jars to fill, but I wasn't a nutrition Nazi. I sometimes packed those itty-bitty chip or cookie bags in their lunches along with the carrots. ;)

If my kids were in school today, though, I would pack nothing but Twinkies and Dr. Pepper in their lunches because nobody is going to tell me how to feed my kid. And because I take delight in thinking about nutrition Nazis getting their knickers in a knot over ______. :twisted:
 
nota bene said:
So what? All any of us needs is water. But wants are okay too. And what I want is my own business. I'm a big girl and can make my own choices, and I made my kids' nutritional choices too. They still whine as young adults now that they never had anything good to eat at home because it was all "healthy." I actually did make all their baby food myself after I had accumulated enough Gerber jars to fill, but I wasn't a nutrition Nazi. I sometimes packed those itty-bitty chip or cookie bags in their lunches along with the carrots. ;)

If my kids were in school today, though, I would pack nothing but Twinkies and Dr. Pepper in their lunches because nobody is going to tell me how to feed my kid. And because I take delight in thinking about nutrition Nazis getting their knickers in a knot over ______. :twisted:
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no wonder there are so many fat kids.
 
dimensionallava said:
right... but if I say corn farms people might ask what corn has to do with soda, and people that already know about the subject dont need it explained, also sugar cane plantations still produce a lot of sugar
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I think soda with sugar from sugar cane doesn't make people as obese as the corn syrup glop that's in soda. Why not ban corn syrup instead of trying to force people not to drink soda?

Another problem with soda, and junk food as a whole, is moderation. People seemed to moderate how much soda they drank at one time, now many people don't.
 
Im not a fan of soda- I havent drank any in years- my son and I sticks to water or pure milk (I also drink plain tea or coffee on occasion) but I am not a fan of taxes either. Its the wrong way to go about doing things.
 
truthatallcost said:
I think soda with sugar from sugar cane doesn't make people as obese as the corn syrup glop that's in soda. Why not ban corn syrup instead of trying to force people not to drink soda?
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nope all sugars are basically the same, in fact diet sodas can be worse for your health, also since fruit juice can have more sugar than regular soda, this excise tax still makes no sense
 
dimensionallava said:
nope all sugars are basically the same, in fact diet sodas can be worse for your health, also since fruit juice can have more sugar than regular soda, this excise tax still makes no sense
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Sin is not often not rational, so why do you expect a sin tax to be rational?

Ya know what I mean?
 
Hawkeye10 said:
Sin is not often not rational, so why do you expect a sin tax to be rational?

Ya know what I mean?
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i dont think its a sin tax

In his email, Grace also slammed John and Laura Arnold, Houston billionaires who are supporting the pro-tax ad campaign on the basis of the tax’s health merits. Grace says Arnold has a history of funding anti-labor ballot initiatives and anti-pension research. He called the contribution “blood money from a man who wants to destroy unions.”

“Any local union that is supporting the Sugary Drinks Tax is now in bed with one of the nation’s most notorious union-busters,” Grace writes. “Arnold also is aggressively pro-school choice and contributes heavily to school choice legislative efforts around the country. He is the enemy. This situation defies logic and it should not be allowed to stand.”


Read more at Teamsters ask fellow unions to reconsider soda tax stance
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Hawkeye10 said:
No worries.

Nobody is correct all the time.
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well it is technically a "sin tax", but sin taxes are considered regressive taxes, which means philladelphia can now afford a new tax cut for the wealthy
 
dimensionallava said:
nope all sugars are basically the same, in fact diet sodas can be worse for your health, also since fruit juice can have more sugar than regular soda, this excise tax still makes no sense
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Diet soda is full of artificial sweetener, which is bad for health. I think natural sugar, within reason, is a person's best bet if they're going to drink soda.
 
dimensionallava said:
well it is technically a "sin tax", but sin taxes are considered regressive taxes, which means philladelphia can now afford a new tax cut for the wealthy
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No, not really:

The proposed tax on sweetened drinks and diet beverages would bring in $91 million annually. The administration has said it would fund prekindergarten expansion, the creation of community schools, and improvements to parks, recreation centers, and libraries. Because those programs would take time to ramp up, the tax would generate more money than would be spent in the first three full years it was implemented.

As a result, the administration said Wednesday that an additional $24 million would be directed through 2020 to bolster the fund balance, which has dropped from $150 million last year to $70 million this year.
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The administration is predicting a fund balance of $33.7 million in fiscal 2017. The recommended amount for 2017 is about $246 million.
Read more at Philly's fund balance takes center stage in soda-tax debate
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The city is pretty much flat broke, so dont be betting the farm that this promised candy ever actually gets handed out.
 
dimensionallava said:
sure lets go deeper, how will this effect sugar plantations? the USA spends billions subsidizing the sugar industry, maybe they will have to increase their subsidies now thats these taxes are in place. They would certainly have a good argument for doing so
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You really think that high fructose corn syrup is grown on a sugar plantation? Wow.
 
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