Soda - The New Tobacco

So during the drive home from work today I was doing my usual routine, listening to John and Ken on KFI 640. They were interviewing some doctor or professor or whatever from North Carolina who was advocating a tax on sodas, similar to the tax that is placed on cigarettes. According to him, people are getting too fat off of drinking soda and this tax not only would inhibit purchases but would also be used to fund research and programs to educate people and get them to have a healthier diet.

Now where does all of this stop? Are we going to be paying extra taxes at McDonalds because the stuff they serve over there is so fattening? Maybe a different tax rate if you order a Big Mac versus if you order a salad (but extra tax if you get dressing with it). As a side note, have you actually ordered a salad over there? Next time take a look at the lettuce and see it is turning brown; I suspect that's because most of the salads are just sitting around for a lengthy time waiting for someone to order them. Who the heck goes to McDonalds to eat a salad, anyway? But back to the subject of this post, where does all this taxation end?

Personally, I am glad there are hefty taxes on cigarettes. I hate it when people smoke and the more they weaken their financial condition because of it, that's fine with me. But there's a difference between consuming soda versus smoking a cigarette; I don't ingest calories when the person next to me is drinking a soda. I don't ingest calories or fat or sodium if the person next to me is eating a large order of french fries. Now if I choose to eat that stuff, then that's my decision. Just because it is unhealthy I resent someone trying to tax me because of it.

This is just another case of taking responsibility away from where it belongs: the person doing the action. Are people really that stupid to not get the connection between eating too much food and getting fat? Why do some people feel they have to hold everyone's hand instead of letting them be responsible for what they do? It's the same stupidity as that fatso that sued McDonalds saying it caused them to become overweight. We're becoming a nation of finger-pointers, of people who feel that the blame is somewhere else besides ourselves, and the buck stops elsewhere.

As an aside, something I think is really funny is to watch people order a pastrami dip, a large order of fries or onion rings or both, and then a diet coke to wash it down. Har har! Of course, I do that, too. But that's my choice. I know I'm only fooling myself. I don't need anyone laying extra taxes on me because of my stupidity.

Let's see... tax on sodas for excess sugar. We should tax Campbell's chunky soups for having excess sodium. Put a 'fat tax' on bacon. Maybe we should tax some books for having excess words because that causes a strain on your eyes and you know that ain't good. But make blogs exempt.