A California Mayor would like to put a tax on soda in an effort to slim his city down. He claims it to be his effort in a fight against chronic obesity, which strains the cities health care system. Of the 65 % of Americans considered overweight, studies show roughly one-third are considered "obese," weighing 30 lbs or more over their ideal weight.
I admit I am pretty close to declaring myself Swiss. On the one hand, alcohol and cigarette taxes have severely cut down on the amount of people smoking and drinking since they've been imposed, and I'm all for my friends and family that can't or won't take care of their health once it's started to deteriorate due to drinking, smoking or even over-eating.
But on the other hand, it looks like Mayor Newsom feels the need to babysit San Francisco. And I can see where this would make the city upset. I agree with them when they say that it's one thing to discourage people from doing the "wrong thing," and it's another to force them to do the "right thing."
Problem is, the more we do things that make people in this country feel like they're losing freedoms or aren't in control of their daily lives and decisions, the more we create this apathetic non-voting government-hating sub-genre of Americans that seems to be growing every day.
All in all, while I can see Mayor Newsom's concern, I don't think taxing soda is the answer. It's a temporary solution to a deeper and much more complicated issue. We need to encourage food companies to make healthier products. We need to make gym memberships affordable to average-joes (Thank you, Planet Fitness, for rocking so hard). We need to encourage walking and biking from place to place, which helps the environment AND your fat ass! Ha-ha!
Plus, I like diet coke with lime.
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