Sin Tax on Soda

Mark, this argument really has nothing to do with the constitution. If goverment tax dollars are paying for the consequences of unhealthy food products, then they should have the right to tax, or surcharge said products. There is zero argument that food products like sugar laced soda lead to chronic and life long health problems. (Obesity, diabetes, etc...) I recently read a stat that the average teenager today, consumes as much sugar in one day, as an average teen 150 years ago did in a year. People in this country are getting fatter and unhealthier by the day. Obesity and the side affects of it kill more people than almost every other disease combined, yet we continue to allow it to go uncontrolled. I for one am tired of my tax dollars going to medicare and other programs that pay billions of dollars to repair grotesquely overweight bodies that have been ravaged by poor diet and lazy lifestyle.

Not only do I think the tax is a good idea, but I would go one step further. We should allow insurance companies to charge different rates for different levels of obesity. Its unfair that someone that keeps their body in decent condition pays the same rate as someone that is 100 lbs overweight and never exercises.

And for what it's worth, before you call me a flaming liberal, I'm totally against Obama care. I believe that less goverment regualtoin of the healthcare industry and insurance would reduce costs and lead to better standards. But we do need to recoup the costs associated with bad behavior.

Since obesity kills people earlier, it actually saves healthcare dollars. Which blows the whole argumant out of the water. Instead, let's ban all athletic activities. All those knee replacements and emergency room visits are too expensive. People that belong to a health clubs or play pick up basketball or bar league softball have destroyed our healthcare system. We should all be obese smokers. We'd all drop dead at 50 and save the country trillions in healthcare costs. :)

The Borg: Nowhere in the constitution does it authorize the federal government that control; and if it is not granted therein, it is deferred to the states and the people per the tenth amendment. Giving people your money is irrelevant to authorizing government to control your neighbor; but power-hungry officials want us to believe otherwise. That is a false trap. Government can only derive that power through an amendment.