Have Liberals Ever Seen A Tax They Didn’t Like?
Gov. Paterson’s proposal to tax soda in New York fizzled, but President Obama says it’s an idea whose time may come.
The President, in an interview with Men’s Health magazine released yesterday, said he thought taxing soda and other sugary drinks is worth putting on the table as Congress debates health care reform.
“It’s an idea that we should be exploring,” the President said. “There’s no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that’s been done about obesity shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else.”
Early this year, a public uproar forced Paterson to abandon his plan for an 18% state tax on soda and other sugary drinks. With Obama having a hard enough time selling health care reform, the White House tried after the interview appeared to put the cap back on the bottle.
White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said a soda tax is “not something we’ve proposed.” And an administration official went further, saying he “is not going to do so.”
Still, Obama was willing to at least float the idea. Congressional lawmakers have considered soda taxes as one among many ways way to cover the cost of revamping the health care system, estimated at up to $1 trillion over 10 years.
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Dave C
