The head of Coca-Cola came out swinging against the proposals to impose special taxes on soft drinks:
Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) — Coca-Cola Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent said the idea of a federal tax on soft drinks, under consideration by the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama, is “outrageous.”
“I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink,” Kent said today, responding to an audience question at the Rotary Club of Atlanta. “If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around.
Ouch.
September 16th, 2009 at 7:37 am
[...] TO SERVE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTIES BALLOTING AT THE PRESIDENTIAL Coca-Cola Chief Goes After Democrats On Soda Tax – belowthebeltway.com 09/16/2009 The head of Coca-Cola came out swinging against the [...]
September 16th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Even if one accepts the bizarre notion that obesity is somehow a legitimate negative externality to be combatted with the coercive force of government, then one still must acknowledge the pesky fact that soda does not cause obesity — CALORIES cause obesity. So either demand that all calories be taxed equally or STFU.
P.S. Let’s also recall that other pesky fact: soda, even diet soda, is not exempt from most states’ sales taxes the way other food & beverages generally are.
September 16th, 2009 at 11:06 am
I honestly don’t have a huge problem with a tax on things like soda and candy. Obesity is unhealthy, probably just as much so as smoking. Putting a tax on it isn’t telling people that they can’t have it anymore than putting a tax on cigarettes tells people they can’t have it. It just means that those folks that are indulging in those things, like me and my 6 pack of Pepsi a day habit, are paying ahead of time for the health care costs that society is going to get stuck with down the road because morons like me don’t know how to use a little moderation. Is it intrusive? Sure it is, but then so are seat belt laws, or laws requiring auto insurance. I find property taxes to be intrusive, not to mention all those laws and regulations about what my house has to look like, or how often I have to mow my yard, or shovel the snow off my sidewalks.