From Gov. Chris Gregoire’s new tax proposal:
Excise Tax on Carbonated Beverages
Carbonated beverages are a discretionary purchase. Their consumption leads to growing public health issues, including childhood obesity and diabetes. Through an excise tax of 5 cents per 12 ounces, this proposal would raise $93.6 million this biennium.
Or, you know, we could just build some more sidewalks. That’s what Gov. Blethen would do.
(And in case you’re wondering about the headline… um, here.)
I don’t like it because it’s regressive…but cheap soda is fucking killing us and by “us” I mean mostly poor people. Check this out: Soda Use map compared to Diabetes map.
Oh, please don’t tell me the tax would apply to beer. Beer drinkers already subsidize everyone else as it is.
We drink nothing but diet soda in our house.
This stupid regressive taxing..
The proposal also taxes bottled water at 1 cent per ounce.
I believe most, if not all, of these new taxes being proposed would go into the General Fund. They are not meant to curb bad health habits, but to raise revenue for the state government.
Do they think people will think, “Well, candy is bad for us, so that tax is ok.”? Is that the spin she is attempting?
What about water?
@1: Cool maps. I noticed a disconnect for WA: The soda drinking happens on the East side; most of the diabetes is on the West side?
All: it is a stupid regressive tax.
Tax Breaks are a target rich environment, to the tune of about $15B as of the 2008 DOR report. A short perusal would leave you outraged…
Ross Hunter owns this and I think he could use some encouragement to dig deeper into special interest tax breaks.
So now we have Government deciding what is best for us and calling anything that doesn’t meet their standard as “discretionary”?
Eating sprouts is discretionary and they can get stuck in your throat.
Coffee is discretionary and bad for you…how about that?
Oh yeah, Howie Schultz is a Lib.
This is ridiculous….a trademark of the Washington Lunatic Left.
Food people buy from the grocery store should not be taxed, unless it is prepared/deli food.
This is simply shameless.
Cynical hurls: “So now we have Government deciding what is best for us and calling anything that doesn’t meet their standard as “discretionary”?”
Government can decide that going to war is good for us. Surely, government can decide that taxing those consumer products that end up costing government, which means all of us, more makes good sense. Do you want to argue that soda pop and Snickers bars are good for people, Cyn? Liquor and tobacco get taxed at high rates because of societal costs they impose. Do you have a problem with that? We have a major obesity problem in this country, Cynny, which drives up both private and public healthcare costs. That means your costs too, my friend. You, nonetheless, suggest that we should do nothing on a political level to address that reality. How do you breathe with your head in the sand?
@5
Yup. I’ve been harping on this for a couple of years, haven’t gotten any traction with my local state electeds.
@6
Governments have been deciding what’s best for you for as long as there have been governments. Churches do the same, btw.
@6
Moderate coffee use lowers your chances of getting type two diabetes or committing suicide.
As for the tax, it’s a stupid, regressive, steaming pile of horse shit.
1,2,3,4,1,2
Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me,
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
‘Cos I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
(If you drive a car ), I’ll tax the street,
(If you try to sit ), I’ll tax your seat,
(If you get too cold ), I’ll tax the heat,
(If you get thirsty ) , I’ll tax your drink,
(If you take a walk ), I’ll tax your feet.
Taxman.
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Don’t ask me what I want it for
(Taxman! Misses Gregoire!)
If you don’t want to pay some more
(Taxman! Mister McGinn!),
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Now my advice for those who die, (Taxman!)
Declare the pennies on your eyes, (Taxman!)
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
And you’re working for no-one but me,
(Taxman).
@8 “How do you breathe with your head in the sand?”
Well, the KLOWN manages to breathe alright with his head up his ass, so I imagine that having his head in the sand is really no big deal.
steve@11-
Congratulations.
You are now legally insane!
Legalizedrobbery @ 10–
Funny.
Great song…and very appropo.
The songwriter clearly had Gregoire and the Democrat Party in mind.
Should be Tim Eyman’s Theme Song–
Re 8
Sin Taxes have nothing to do with behavior, except in the platitudes of politicians.
Legislators don’t actually want people drinking less, smoking less etc. They just know the folks who drink will pay the tax to get the bottle of Scotch, or the smoker will pay whatever tax is placed on his Marlboros.
Let’s not pretend that this is about social good, it’s all about how to get revenue.
@13
Yup!
Raising the price on cigs helped cut consumption, but we did that by using a really high tax. This is just nickel and diming people so that the state ledg. doesn’t have to make any big changes or hard choices.
@10
Fair use? And McGuinn doesn’t scan rythmically. What are you Ringo?
@12
Totally off topic but George was the underated songwriter in the band. Ringo, not underated, his songs kind of blow.
Back on topic, sort of. I carbonate my own beverages too. Mine are the natural byproduct of the yeast reproductive cycle. Tanks are for dispensing pressure not disolving into CO2 into a solution.
How much you wanna bet that state spending goes UP AGAIN next year…
fucking crooks…
But, she said that she’s going to treat the state budget like a family budget…
@17
If she’s anything like a few of my neighbors that means she’s max out the credit cards and mortgage the house to buy stupid crap.
I think we should tax war, torture, and wiretapping.
@12 Yeah, like you assholes should be trusted with other people’s money …
@19 RR – as usual another acid-fried post. Stop doing the drugs.
I think I get it now….
It seems the progressives here LOVE and support various new kinds of taxes and tax hikes….ACCEPT when THEY actually have to pay them – then those are somehow evil regressive taxes…
hey fucktards, this is what happens when you want the state pay for every damn thing, YOU actually have to write the check. idiots. You all want free shit paid as long as its just paid for by “the evil rich”….
what a hoot!
Max,
Somehow Puddy remembers Dino Rossi warning this budget crisis was coming and the HA Libtardos pooh poohed it. Now that it’s here these leftist comments are so funny. Goes to show you what happens leftist pinheads guard the henhouse uhhhh… the budget.
Did you see Ahhhhrnold tell everyone CA is broke?
this is why i hate public healthcare option because it transforms personal choices into social issues.
if i want to drink 10 gallons of carbonated corn syrup every day, thats my own goddamn business.
but keep in mind, not all carbonated drinks are corn syrup based.
us proper liberal elites love our carbonated water. because Europeans do it!
this state if fucking assinine.
@25 the state will take your carpet, lebowski. lol!
@26….first they will tax it, then they will take it…..
The problem is high fructose corn syrup, not carbonated drinks. HFSC is in everything. And it’s killing us.
Sugar: The Bitter Truth is a great, if too long, explanation.
The speaker is a doctor, researcher from an obesity treatment clinic. Step 1 (of 4) of his diet is “no sugar drinks”. (Including “diet” drinks, but for other reasons.)
busdrivermike @ 7
In general, I totally agree with you.
But candy, gum, soda, etc are not “food”, as in have value. In raising my kid, we have “snacks” (carrots, apples, toast) and “treats” (ice cream, candy, cake). Snacks are permitted at any time. Treats are reserved for special occasions.
The correct answer, of course, is for the USA to stop subsidizing agri-biz’s production of corn, which creates the source of cheap sweetener.
cynical @ 6
I’m amused that you trogs oppose taxes on something which causes harm, but totally cool with subsidizing that source of harm. Typical.
Please.
Continue.
platy @ 24
No. It’s official policy. The choice is already made for you.
I was in Centralia recently. I wanted some Odwalla bars. If you haven’t had one, they’re like candy bars for hikers. I stopped at a few stores. Ended up at a WalMart.
I went up and down every single aisle, checking the ingredients of everything. I couldn’t find a single product without high fructose corn syrup.
Supposedly free market libertarians base their arguments in ideology, not economics or reality.
lebowski @ 25
Compared to what?
Should we start taxing homosexual sex?
puddy @ 23
I predict the sun will rise tomorrow. In the east.
Now Dino and I are both eligible for the Captain Obvious award.
platy @ 24
I’ve read this statement a few times and I still have no idea what you’re talking about.
Busting up the insurance company monopolies, giving consumers a choice, is a bad thing?
I thought you libertarians were all for the “free market”.
Maybe the mistake is my own. I keep expecting libertarian ideologies to have some sort of cohesion, rationale, consistency, or something. Anything, really. Anything that would make it predictable.
But no. Libertarian beliefs are Calvin Ball, just making up the rules as you play the game.
Oh my. I finally found a tax I like.
The bottled water affectation seems to be totally Seattle-style liberal. Don’t know any real Americans who buy the stuff out of bottles.
The only thing Mayor Wooden Nickels did right was to beat up bottled water. It’s the only thing Governor Gargoyle has done right. Tax it to the max.
Taking water in planet-killing plastic is weirdly counterintuitive, sort of like Seattle Parks & Recreation just saying NO! to smokin’ sodomy in public parks.
@28
The introduction of HFCS and the Drive-Thru are about the same time. Not that HFCS isn’t a problem but it’s more of a symptom than a root cause.
czech @ 36
Watch the video. It really is too long. But it summarizes lots of info found elsewhere.
Short version: fructose gets directly converted to fat, unlike glucose; fructose bypasses body’s “i’m full” signal; obesity epidemic corresponds to the FDA’s low fat food strategy (replacing fat with fructose) beginning in the 70s.
More brief: Fructose is poison, very similar to ethanol (vs glucose).
Sucrose is fructose + glucose. So why doesn’t fruit kill us? Because fruit contains fiber, inhibiting the digestion of fructose (the video explains the metabolic pathways, it’s been ages since I took organic chemistry, so I only got the gist). Hence the “no sugar drinks, even fruit juice” diet advice.
Horseshit from the Horsesass, Jason. Pull your head out.
Get past Pollan and Lappe and Richardson, and get a clue.
@ jason osgood:
the abundance of corn products on the market is not a consequence of free markets. to the contrary, the government subsidizes these industries. rather than tax poor people for eating cheap food, we should be getting government out of producing other cheap bad food.
also, busting up monopolies is exactly the goal of free market libertarians.
who put in the ‘option’ into public option anyway? is it supposed to be ironic?