US Federal tax on soda?

[Rocky]

The Senate Finance Committee today is hearing proposals on how to pay for President Obama's proposed universal health care plan, which is expected to cost more than $1 trillion. Among the proposals, as Consumer Affairs reports: A three-cent tax on sodas as well as other sugary drinks, including energy and sports drinks like Gatorade. Diet sodas would be exempt

Senate Considers Federal Tax On Soda - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

Sounds interesting to me. Not that I would care for this bill to get passed by any means since I drink plenty of Dr Pepper, but I can appreciate where the bill is coming from. We need a plan to pay for all of these proposals that President Obama has been talking about, and this would be a step into becoming a healthier country as a whole.

Discuss.

[Che]

Raise taxes on something that slowly kills you in favor of paying for healthcare? Sounds win/win.

And to anyone complaining about 3 cents extra, gtfo.

[OceanEyes28]

I'm okay with it. People waste too much money on soda anyway (and then complain that they can't afford to "eat healthy").

I will not buy soda. As usual.

[Violet]

Well, I don't want someone telling me what I should be drinking or should be eating. If I want to drink soda, screw you. It's my choice. Raising taxes on soda because it's unhealthy..

..Personally, I think that's a load of bullshit, since I love my soda and I don't want anyone touchin' my fuggin soda. Also, I drink more water and milk than soda anyways, but I always like to enjoy a tall glass of cold soda once in awhile.
Why not raise taxes on cigarettes or alcohol instead? Or have they already? I have no idea, I don't pay attention to this stuff.. but yeah, it just annoys me a tad..

[Che]

Why not raise taxes on cigarettes or alcohol instead? Or have they already? I have no idea, I don't pay attention to this stuff.. but yeah, it just annoys me a tad..

They have already, and its literally 3 cents extra on soda according to the article. Does that really make you that mad?

If you drank 5 sodas a day every single day without skipping a beat for a year (in which you'd need that healthcare anyway for that), your total would come to 54.60$ extra in a year).

[Violet]

Oh, 3 cents extra? I didn't really read the entire thing word for word, I sorta skimmed over it . If it's just 3 cents extra, then that's not that bad.. not that bad at all.

[Heartless Angel]

Paying 3 cents extra I couldn't care less about. My 3 cents going towards that bullshit bill, hell no. That piece of crap is LOADED with provisions and extra laws that they'd rather we not hear about. There's a reason they're trying to push the thing through as fast as humanly possible; but, a political debate on healthcare isn't what this is about, so back on topic...

TBH that extra 3 cents would add up pretty damn fast for me, I go through 5-7 or more energy drinks in a day, every day. And i have been doing so for the past 4 years at least. Granted, it wouldn't add up to any ammount worth complaing about, but still, that's gonna be over 50$ a year for me, one less video game I can buy >.< But, hey, whaddya gonna do, it's a tax, you're stuck paying it, better get used to the idea.

[RagnaToad]

There's a reason they're trying to push the thing through as fast as humanly possible

Yeah. It's called caring about your civilians.

I go through 5-7 or more energy drinks in a day, every day. And i have been doing so for the past 4 years at least.

Woh. Doesn't sound too healthy. The cafeine and sugar can't be good for you.

Also want to quote Che for truth, but I'm too lazy to actually do it.

[Heartless Angel]

Caring so much that they'll cost most businesses to stop providing GOOD healthcare so we ALL get stuck with this shitty government controlled crap? I don't know about you, but I really don't want my expensive medical descisions to be made by a government on a budget thatt's several trillion dollars in debt. Something tells me they probably aren't going to go out of their way to pay for the BEST possible care.

[RagnaToad]

Caring so much that they'll cost most businesses to stop providing GOOD healthcare so we ALL get stuck with this shitty government controlled crap? I don't know about you, but I really don't want my expensive medical descisions to be made by a government on a budget thatt's several trillion dollars in debt. Something tells me they probably aren't going to go out of their way to pay for the BEST possible care.

Lol.

The USA is the only fully industrialised country that doesn't have a universal healthcare system. And the government doesn't "decide" anything, they just fund it.

I've had this discussion too many times in the ID forums, so I'll leave it at that.

Anyway,

BOOBS!!!

[Dodie16]

Posted by Heartless Angel
I go through 5-7 or more energy drinks in a day, every day. And i have been doing so for the past 4 years at least.

How does your heart not explode after drinking all that? Seriously, that's a LOT of caffeine. I think there's even a warning label on some of those energy drinks that say you shouldn't consume more than two in a 24 hour period. I might be wrong, but I could have sworn it said that on the back of one of my brother's Monster energy drinks.

Anyway, as for the tax, I don't drink soda or energy drinks, so it doesn't really effect me. If the government decided to tax something that I did enjoy, I probably wouldn't care about that either, especially if it was just 3 cents.

[Heartless Angel]

My doctors ask me the same thing Dodie... The lowest dosage of caffiene that (to my knowledge) has ever proven fatal was 3 grams. The worst thing I drink only has about 400mg (and i don't drink many of these). To be perfectly honest, I'd probably drown in the crap before I died of caffiene OD. But I do have an abnormally high heartrate, so it's not like they don't have an efffect on my health, just not a fatal one.

[Sasquatch]

Yay. More government intervention to control our own choices, done only to support the largest and most flawed bill in the history of the United States.

So it's only three cents. Does it matter whether it's three cents or three dollars?

Some people might be alright with their government trying to control people's choices and protect them from their own habits. Some people are quite fine with their government squeezing every possible cent from its citizens here and there because it can't function on a budget. Hell, some people are even happily accepting of any new taxes, as long as they think they won't be affected.

But I'm not.

[chrono]

Yay. More government intervention to control our own choices, done only to support the largest and most flawed bill in the history of the United States.

So it's only three cents. Does it matter whether it's three cents or three dollars?

Some people might be alright with their government trying to control people's choices and protect them from their own habits. Some people are quite fine with their government squeezing every possible cent from its citizens here and there because it can't function on a budget. Hell, some people are even happily accepting of any new taxes, as long as they think they won't be affected.

But I'm not.

Someone gets it....


hmmmm.... I do not even drink soda(at all) but this is a dumb idea. The "well it is only 3 cents" excuse does not cut it with me because it is MY 3 cents. If i take from you it should not matter the amount.

There are a ton of places where the government can cut spending if they need money for projects but **** trying to balance anything lets just figure out how to take more of the peoples hard earned money.

Government needs to stay in its place.

[Tallulah]

In Britain we have a 17.5% value added tax (VAT) on pretty much anything not considered essential, such as sweets, biscuits and processed foods.

No idea where the money from that goes, but it's definitely not going on the NHS. :/ Or anywhere else for that matter; probably in the government's pockets!

Only time will tell whether this will work in America. If it doesn't work they'll keep the taxes on as the governmemnt will be making money either way.

[Zargabaath]

Yay. More government intervention to control our own choices, done only to support the largest and most flawed bill in the history of the United States.

So it's only three cents. Does it matter whether it's three cents or three dollars?

Some people might be alright with their government trying to control people's choices and protect them from their own habits. Some people are quite fine with their government squeezing every possible cent from its citizens here and there because it can't function on a budget. Hell, some people are even happily accepting of any new taxes, as long as they think they won't be affected.

But I'm not.

I second that.

It is a thing of principle which some people tend to dismiss easily when they shouldn't. How a person decides to live their life is up to them and a government should not be controlling what they do. A lot of people don't eat healthy or live a healthy lifestyle; could that be a contributing factor as to why their bodies are not that strong? If people chose to live healthier that would be somewhat of an equivalent of insurance companies being forced to cover pre-emptive care and/or pre-existing conditions. Isn't that so wierd too, the government telling a company what they can or can not sell - that sounds like a dictatorship to me.

But lets go into unhealthy lifestyle choices. The government is thinking that soda needs to be taxed because it is unhealthy and they are trying to discourage the purchase of that item - which could lead to the company having to shut down plants and/or let go of people if their revenue takes a big hit - and the government supposedly cares about jobs? Now I'll take this to an area that we are more familiar with than the drinking of soda - videogames. Videogames can lead to a very stationary lifestyle where people aren't active enough; videogames can be time-sinks, such as WoW. The government could put a new tax on videogames, one that could really hike their prices up; how would you guys take that? It only hurts when it conflicts with something that "you" care about. That is why it is important to stick by the principle of this instance because if the government can get a foot in the door eventually their whole body will be in the room. A government is to protect its citizens not to dictate how they [the people] should live their lives.

[Heartless Angel]

I second that.

It is a thing of principle which some people tend to dismiss easily when they shouldn't. How a person decides to live their life is up to them and a government should not be controlling what they do. A lot of people don't eat healthy or live a healthy lifestyle; could that be a contributing factor as to why their bodies are not that strong? If people chose to live healthier that would be somewhat of an equivalent of insurance companies being forced to cover pre-emptive care and/or pre-existing conditions. Isn't that so wierd too, the government telling a company what they can or can not sell - that sounds like a dictatorship to me.

But lets go into unhealthy lifestyle choices. The government is thinking that soda needs to be taxed because it is unhealthy and they are trying to discourage the purchase of that item - which could lead to the company having to shut down plants and/or let go of people if their revenue takes a big hit - and the government supposedly cares about jobs? Now I'll take this to an area that we are more familiar with than the drinking of soda - videogames. Videogames can lead to a very stationary lifestyle where people aren't active enough; videogames can be time-sinks, such as WoW. The government could put a new tax on videogames, one that could really hike their prices up; how would you guys take that? It only hurts when it conflicts with something that "you" care about. That is why it is important to stick by the principle of this instance because if the government can get a foot in the door eventually their whole body will be in the room. A government is to protect its citizens not to dictate how they [the people] should live their lives.

I absolutely agree. It's a shame the rest of the world lacks the intellect to think that way. Far too many people are willing to just let it go if it doesn't concern them. If we all stood against the crap together just because it's wrong, rather than because it directly affects us, we'd be much better off. A government recieves the right to rule from the people. Their power comes from us, not the other way around.

[Che]

I absolutely agree. It's a shame the rest of the world lacks the intellect to think that way. Far too many people are willing to just let it go if it doesn't concern them. If we all stood against the crap together just because it's wrong, rather than because it directly affects us, we'd be much better off. A government recieves the right to rule from the people. Their power comes from us, not the other way around.

It has nothing to do with intellect.

As I said before, you guys are ridiculous. This change directly affects me, and I am fine with the change.

Yes, governments should not control how people spend their lives, but neither should some of the people living in this country.

Let's forget about the healthcare bill for a second. Do you think the government is just taxing us to tax us? Taxes pay for things, and that's why he have them.

A government recieves the right to rule from the people. Their power comes from us, not the other way around.

Are you blind? That should be the case, but the government clearly controls us already. That's why I'm saying you're so ridiculous for complaining about 0.03$ tax on a soda. Using my 5 soda/day for 365 days in a row it came out to what, 54$? Nobody drinks near that much soda. Quite possibly half that would be a good estimate, so 27$. A videogame costs ~65$ with tax. So stop complaining that you won't be able to buy one extra videogame. You will. If you make the exact same amount you did last year (which is impossible for most people given sick days and schedule changes etc etc), you probably aren't even going to worry about that 27$ for your 365 days.

Nevermind, you will. Because you are ridiculous.

This will be the last time I post in this thread because all of you guys who mean well are just acting like you are a hero. You're not. You aren't going to change anything back by speaking out against the government. Yes, fukc the government, but to change something you need a lot of the population to stand up against it. It won't happen over this.

If you really gave a shit you'd actually do something about it, but you're just bitching about it on a Final Fantasy forum. "Don't tax my soda!" <- put a lisp in there when you say it too for how gay you sound.

[Heartless Angel]

It has nothing to do with intellect.

As I said before, you guys are ridiculous. This change directly affects me, and I am fine with the change.

Yes, governments should not control how people spend their lives, but neither should some of the people living in this country.

Let's forget about the healthcare bill for a second. Do you think the government is just taxing us to tax us? Taxes pay for things, and that's why he have them.



Are you blind? That should be the case, but the government clearly controls us already. That's why I'm saying you're so ridiculous for complaining about 0.03$ tax on a soda. Using my 5 soda/day for 365 days in a row it came out to what, 54$? Nobody drinks near that much soda. Quite possibly half that would be a good estimate, so 27$. A videogame costs ~65$ with tax. So stop complaining that you won't be able to buy one extra videogame. You will. If you make the exact same amount you did last year (which is impossible for most people given sick days and schedule changes etc etc), you probably aren't even going to worry about that 27$ for your 365 days.

Nevermind, you will. Because you are ridiculous.

This will be the last time I post in this thread because all of you guys who mean well are just acting like you are a hero. You're not. You aren't going to change anything back by speaking out against the government. Yes, fukc the government, but to change something you need a lot of the population to stand up against it. It won't happen over this.

If you really gave a shit you'd actually do something about it, but you're just bitching about it on a Final Fantasy forum. "Don't tax my soda!" <- put a lisp in there when you say it too for how gay you sound.

You know why we can't change anything? Because of idiots like you. a few people complaining doesn't acomplish anything, you're right. A whole country bending over and accepting being butt****ed out of their money solves less. The whole population won't stand up against anything because of useless people like you everywhere. And for the record, I do drink 5 or more sodas in a day, and the average game costs 50$ unless you're buying brand new first party releases for the ps3.

[chrono]

Are you blind? That should be the case, but the government clearly controls us already. That's why I'm saying you're so ridiculous for complaining about 0.03$ tax on a soda.

This will be the last time I post in this thread because all of you guys who mean well are just acting like you are a hero. You're not. You aren't going to change anything back by speaking out against the government. Yes, fukc the government, but to change something you need a lot of the population to stand up against it. It won't happen over this.

The lie down and die philosophy does not stick well with me. And are you sure we are not doing anything?

If we were to play a team sport i would pick you last because it seems like you are not a "come from behind" type of guy.

[Sasquatch]

It has nothing to do with intellect.

No, it has everything to do with greed and complexes of superiority.

As I said before, you guys are ridiculous. This change directly affects me, and I am fine with the change.

And because you're fine with it, the rest of us should be ... and we're ridiculous?

Yes, governments should not control how people spend their lives, but neither should some of the people living in this country.

Except you, of course -- you should, but nobody else. At least, not people that disagree with you.

I mean, if you don't have a problem with specific taxes and tariffs, then obviously there's nothing wrong with it.

Let's forget about the healthcare bill for a second. Do you think the government is just taxing us to tax us? Taxes pay for things, and that's why he have them.

If we "forget about" all the crap we allow our government to spend money on, there's no reason to tax anyway. So let's not "forget about the healthcare bill" -- because without this outrageous waste of time and money (and lives), there would be less need for stupid taxes.

Are you blind? That should be the case, but the government clearly controls us already. That's why I'm saying you're so ridiculous for complaining about 0.03$ tax on a soda. Using my 5 soda/day for 365 days in a row it came out to what, 54$? Nobody drinks near that much soda. Quite possibly half that would be a good estimate, so 27$. A videogame costs ~65$ with tax. So stop complaining that you won't be able to buy one extra videogame. You will. If you make the exact same amount you did last year (which is impossible for most people given sick days and schedule changes etc etc), you probably aren't even going to worry about that 27$ for your 365 days.

True, there are bigger things to worry about. But if you're trying to say that we shouldn't worry about the little things adding up ... no, just, no.

Nevermind, you will. Because you are ridiculous.

Yes, we know, everybody that disagrees with you is ridiculous.

This will be the last time I post in this thread because all of you guys who mean well are just acting like you are a hero. You're not.

We're bitching about a useless tax being initiated to support a horribly flawed program. Who is acting like a hero?

You aren't going to change anything back by speaking out against the government.

Because nothing ever changes because people speak out against their government.

Yes, fukc the government, but to change something you need a lot of the population to stand up against it. It won't happen over this.

Because it's a "little thing" and there are bigger things to worry about. However, some of us don't want to wait until the one last little piece of straw breaks the camel's back, we'd like to keep that many pieces of straw from getting to the camel in the first place.

If you really gave a shit you'd actually do something about it, but you're just bitching about it on a Final Fantasy forum.

Because the internet is a horrible place to talk about political views or raise awareness, and nobody here is in any way politically active, or even of voting age. Wait ...

"Don't tax my soda!" <- put a lisp in there when you say it too for how gay you sound.

And apparently you have nothing better to do than bitch about and insult others who speak out against stupid government policies and flawed programs. Congratulations. You are such a winner.

The lie down and die philosophy does not stick well with me. And are you sure we are not doing anything?

If we were to play a team sport i would pick you last because it seems like you are not a "come from behind" type of guy.

Actually, judging by the complacency with being screwed (but with lube!) by his government and strange fascination with gays and lisps, I'd say he's exactly a "come from behind" kind of guy.

[GypsyElder]

Sounds interesting to me. Not that I would care for this bill to get passed by any means since I drink plenty of Dr Pepper

Zomg DP is my favorite soda, and the only soda I really drink. I wouldn't mind the tax but I'm not sure it this counts for name brand soda's or all carbonated drinks, which wouldn't be fun because I do like Ginger ale and my carbonated fruit waters lol, I could live though if it helps the overall picture.

I don't use my pennies anyway.

[vicks and wedge]

remember it was taxes on tea among other things that sparked the american revolution!!leave the ppls money alone!

[Clint]

****ing politics. Multiple wars going on, an economic recession, millions of people out of work and struggling to survive on a day to day basis, and all they're worried about is soda. Whatever happened to the days when the government wasn't run by complete retards? Or was that never?

Already have to pay sales tax, and now three cents caked onto that. Bullshit.

[Heartless Angel]

The days of intelligence governing civilization ended the very instant someone came up with the idea of someone being in charge. When power is put in the hands of any one person, or one group of people, there will always be problems. One person or group simply can't make everyone happy.

[Che]

Whatever happened to the days when the government wasn't run by complete retards? Or was that never?

Probably never.

[Josh_R]

Back in my fat days I would be pissed. Now I don't give two shits. If they raised the tax on powerade or gatorade then I would be pissed. God I love that stuff..

[Dodie16]

Back in my fat days I would be pissed. Now I don't give two shits. If they raised the tax on powerade or gatorade then I would be pissed. God I love that stuff..

Hate to break it to you but...

A three-cent tax on sodas as well as other sugary drinks, including energy and sports drinks like Gatorade.

[Josh_R]

Hate to break it to you but...

I didn't even see that. NO... Damn you... Oh well I will live...

[Che]

I didn't even see that. NO... Damn you... Oh well I will live...

I thought you were gonna be pissed?

Back in my fat days I would be pissed. Now I don't give two shits. If they raised the tax on powerade or gatorade then I would be pissed. God I love that stuff..