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I Left My Soda Tax in San Francisco
San Fran mayor and wannabe next governor of the great(ly broke) state of California proposes hitting retailers who sell demon soft drinks with a new fee. Details from the San Francisco Chronicle:
Calling soda the new tobacco, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will introduce legislation this fall that would charge a fee to retailers that sell sugary beverages.
Newsom would need voter approval to tax individual cans of soda and sugary juice, but only needs approval from the Board of Supervisors to levy a fee on retailers. His legislation would charge grocery stores like Safeway and big-box stores, but would not affect restaurants that serve sodas.
Newsom wouldn't say how much the stores would have to pay or how the city would spend the fees. When he first floated the idea in 2007, he said the money would go to his Shape Up San Francisco exercise program and for media campaigns to discourage soda drinking.
The mayor said the city attorney's office has warned him the city would probably be sued over the matter, but he said it is worth the risk to try to curb a leading cause of obesity and diabetes.
"We know we'll be sued," he said. "But I really believe this is important to do."
|9.18.09 @ 12:32PM|#
"The new tobacco."
These thought processes are so alien to me that I wonder if it's
not an attempt to see what people will say in response. Smile!
You're on Candid Camera!
gaijin|9.18.09 @ 12:35PM|#
"But I really believe this is important to do."
Because the mayor's beliefs are all that matters. All bow to the
king.
|9.18.09 @ 12:45PM|#
His legislation would charge grocery stores like Safeway and
big-box stores, but would not affect restaurants that serve
sodas.
Ah so. Mayor Douchebag knows that San Franciscans love their
(admittedly excellent) restaurants, but it's ok to tax the evil
"big-box" stores.
Who even says "big-box" anymore, unless they're referring to an
especially large pussy? Isn't it so late 90's to hate on
chain stores?
|9.18.09 @ 12:47PM|#
Calling soda the new tobacco,
I never want to hear anyone say, ever again, that the slippery
slope is a fallacy.
EJM|9.18.09 @ 12:53PM|#
Newsom would need voter approval to tax individual cans of
soda and sugary juice, but only needs approval
from the Board of Supervisors to levy a fee on
retailers.
At least he's not hypocritical in terms of his target (i.e., fruit
juices can contain a lot of sugar, too).
|9.18.09 @ 12:56PM|#
"We know we'll be sued," he said. "But I really believe this
is important to do."
Isn't this an open, direct violation of his oath of office? I'm not
familiar with the (undoubtedly fabulous) swearing-in protocols for
San Fran, but isn't he saying that he realizes this is illegal?
|9.18.09 @ 12:57PM|#
"We know we'll be sued," he said. "But we have the money we steal from the unwilling to defend ourselves."
John Tagliaferro|9.18.09 @ 12:58PM|#
As long as the taco trucks are escaping this madness . . . No, this is still messed up and the politicians on the East Coast will be copying it soon. Maybe they will leave the taco trucks alone too? I can only wish.
|9.18.09 @ 1:13PM|#
What's after soda? Fun.
I must not have fun. Fun is the time-killer. Fun is for inferiors, servants, and the help. I will ignore fun. I will work through it. And when the fun is gone only I will remain--I, and my will to win. Damn, I'm good.
--Doon, Harvard Lampoon
|9.18.09 @ 1:15PM|#
At least he's not hypocritical in terms of his
target
Yes, let us rejoice that evil and hypocrisy are not necessarily the
same thing.
-jcr
Invisible Finger|9.18.09 @ 1:18PM|#
The war on sugar will be an even bigger failure than the war on
drugs.
50 years ago: Sugar OK, pot bad.
Today: sugar bad, pot OK.
Invisible Finger|9.18.09 @ 1:20PM|#
Some diabetics NEED sugar quickly from time to time. Why does the mayor of San Francisco hate diabetics?
|9.18.09 @ 1:21PM|#
I never want to hear anyone say, ever again, that the
slippery slope is a fallacy.
Well, it's a logical fallacy. But if there is such a thing
as a logical politician, I've never seen it. So I usually call
"fail" if someone declares slippery slope fallacy in a political
discussion.
ACORN = Enron|9.18.09 @ 1:22PM|#
But it's important to eat healthy:
Let's say you're preparing dinner and you realize with dismay that
you don't have any certified organic Tuscan kale. What to do?
Here's how Michelle Obama handled this very predicament Thursday
afternoon:
The Secret Service and the D.C. police brought in three dozen
vehicles and shut down H Street, Vermont Avenue, two lanes of I
Street and an entrance to the McPherson Square Metro station. They
swept the area, in front of the Department of Veterans Affairs,
with bomb-sniffing dogs and installed magnetometers in the middle
of the street, put up barricades to keep pedestrians out, and took
positions with binoculars atop trucks. Though the produce stand was
only a block or so from the White House, the first lady hopped into
her armored limousine and pulled into the market amid the wail of
sirens.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/17/AR2009091703679_pf.html
Warty|9.18.09 @ 1:25PM|#
I haven't had pop in years. It's the worst poison you can put in yourself. That said, fuck Gavin Newsom.
Mike Laursen|9.18.09 @ 1:26PM|#
San Fran mayor and wannabe next governor of the great(ly
broke) state of California...
Just contemplating the egotistical belief in one's superpowers one
would have to have to run for governor of California at this time.
Gavin Newsom is up to the task.
John Tagliaferro|9.18.09 @ 1:28PM|#
Obama wants me to substitute another word for
hyperbole,
And use commas in plac of periods
Mick Kraut|9.18.09 @ 1:30PM|#
If the idea is to fight obesity, then this shouldnt target diet
soda's correct? With no calories, Coke Zero for example should be
uneffected right?
Somehow, I doubt it.
|9.18.09 @ 1:33PM|#
gotta love this one...
"It makes sense for the government to help people to make the right
choices,"
really? since when is it the government's responsibility to decide
what is the 'right' choice. what is 'right' in the eye of one
person is likely wrong in the eyes of another. an individual being
able to decide what is 'right' for themselves is part and parcel of
liberty and freedom.
it is also funny how this liberal douche bag equates taxing
something as 'help'. of course it is obvious he thinks he knows
what is best for the lowly, confused and uneducated peons he rules
over. and because he knows best, he must 'help' them to see the
light by taking more of their money.
|9.18.09 @ 1:37PM|#
I mentioned this in another thread, but I recently purchased some Mexican-bottled Coke (with sugar instead of HFCS) at Fresh Market. Great stuff.
Anomalous|9.18.09 @ 1:42PM|#
Liberals refuse to grow up, and therefore feel they (and the rest of us) need nannies.
PC|9.18.09 @ 1:43PM|#
"The new tobacco."
Soda is the new tobacco.
Tobacco was the new personal income.
|9.18.09 @ 1:43PM|#
I love how Liberals have such a selective view of the utility of taxes. Raise taxes on a product and it will get people to use less of it. Oh yeah says the liberal. But tell a liberal that raising taxes on income will cause people to work less or raising the cost of hiring a worker will cause businesses to hir less and you just get a blank stare.
Attorney|9.18.09 @ 1:46PM|#
The mayor said the city attorney's office has warned him the
city would probably be sued over the matter, but he said it is
worth the risk
Yeah. That's what the Dover PA School Board said when they decided
to tell the kiddies that evolution is not a fact.
Tomcat1066|9.18.09 @ 1:48PM|#
Obama wants me to stop drinking sugary soft drinks and to replace them with alcohol. Then I won't care about liberty or anything annoying to Obama like that.
|9.18.09 @ 1:48PM|#
Isn't this an open, direct violation of his oath of office?
[...] isn't he saying that he realizes this is illegal?
Yup. Same thing with marrying same-sex couples a few years ago. But
what does law matter when you are Making a Politically Correct
Statement?
short, fat bastard|9.18.09 @ 1:49PM|#
They tell me it's too early to starting shooting people. Is it to early to batter people with a baseball bat?
|9.18.09 @ 1:55PM|#
Why don't they direct their efforts on cutting subsidies on corn? That would make corn syrup more expensive (closer to it's true value anyway)... adding a tax on top of the current subsidy is double dipping.
Xeones|9.18.09 @ 2:01PM|#
People who refer to soda as "pop" are worse than Hitler. That said, shut the fuck up, Gavin Newsom.
John Tagliaferro|9.18.09 @ 2:02PM|#
Obama wants me to shoot people only if I have a badge and a gun.
skr|9.18.09 @ 2:05PM|#
@ Ross,
That is my view as well. Why tax soda when you can just remove a
corn subsidy. Of course then the farmers get pissed. Also, the
politicians don't look like they are doing something, because they
are getting rid of an entitlement instead of creating a tax. But
then that all gets back to Enjoy Every Sandwich's comment about
never seeing a logical politician.
|9.18.09 @ 2:10PM|#
Obama wants me to shoot people only if I have a badge and a gun.... unless you're acting stupidly.
Mike Laursen|9.18.09 @ 2:13PM|#
As a Bay Area denizen, I can assure you that if the soda tax passes, area hipsters will start drinking fizzy, sugary drinks that look a hell of a lot like soda pop. But they won't be called "soda pop" and the sugary syrup will be hand-mixed into the drink by a barista.
|9.18.09 @ 2:16PM|#
I haven't had pop in years. It's the worst poison you can
put in yourself.
I thought your penis was the worst thing I could put in myself.
Colin|9.18.09 @ 2:16PM|#
I rue the day Newsom becomes Governor.
If it happens, we'll be looking back to these times as "the good
old days."
|9.18.09 @ 2:20PM|#
Let's just cut to the chase and get it over with:
Federally run grocery stores, where you turn in your food vouchers
for federally approved foods.
Your voucher allowance will be based on your BMI.
That'll solve all our problems!
Paul|9.18.09 @ 2:20PM|#
So, about this whole drug war re: what we can put into our
bodies, and the government control of certain undesirable
substances...
Meter's runnin.
Warty|9.18.09 @ 2:21PM|#
I thought your penis was the worst thing I could put in
myself.
Are you offering?
Paul|9.18.09 @ 2:27PM|#
50 years ago: Sugar OK, pot bad.
Today: sugar bad, pot OK.
Correction:
50 years ago: Tobacco OK, Sugar OK, pot bad.
Today: pot bad, sugar bad, trans-fats bad, tobacco worse than
heroin, foie gras bad, salt bad, foods that "taste too good" bad,
red meat bad, GM foods bad, [rest ommited due to space
constraints]
Xeones|9.18.09 @ 2:32PM|#
Dagny: yes.
Warty: "soda" is a drink. "Pop" is what the cysts on your ass do
when you sit down too fast.
|9.18.09 @ 2:33PM|#
Now wait a minute, it only follows if the government is going to
be paying for your healthcare, then they should control what types
of activities you do.
To bad most people don't seem to understand that. If you make me
pay for your healthcare, then I get to decide what you eat, smoke,
sports activites etc.
Sure they try and hide it now, but that's the way it will play out.
Some type of panel somewhere deciding what you should do.
Then again, the American public has generally proven to be
uninformed, and univolved, so maybe the Dems are right, and most of
the public does need someone to decide shit for them...
|9.18.09 @ 2:36PM|#
Today: pot bad, sugar bad, trans-fats bad, tobacco worse
than heroin, foie gras bad, salt bad, foods that "taste too good"
bad, red meat bad, GM foods bad,
Don't forget about bacon. Bacon is so evil it runs the 3rd circle
of Hell which is, ironically, gluttony. That is where Ted Kennedy
and Jerry Falwell.
Wicks Cherrycoke|9.18.09 @ 2:42PM|#
"Calling soda the new tobacco...."
What next? Second-hand soda legislation? (Carbonation spreads, ya'
know)
|9.18.09 @ 2:55PM|#
Calling soda the new tobacco
If it is the new tobacco, I would like some of our Cali. posters to
inflict some second hand soda drinking on Newsome.
Spew well, my friends.
|9.18.09 @ 3:07PM|#
First they came for the tokers, and I did not speak out because I was not a marijuana smoker. Then they came for the carbon emitters, and I did not speak out because I didn't own a car. Then they came for the soda drinkers and I did not speak out because I was a tea drinker. Then they came for people with balls and I did not speak out because I had none. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Joe M|9.18.09 @ 4:10PM|#
Hypobole: Anyone that wants to tax sugar soda is worse than someone that gives you a dirty look.
polio robot|9.18.09 @ 4:42PM|#
"Let's just cut to the chase and get it over with:
Federally run grocery stores, where you turn in your food vouchers
for federally approved foods.
Your voucher allowance will be based on your BMI.
That'll solve all our problems!"
Your cunning plan ignores the black market and its ability to
supply those with a high BMI all the sugary, fat laden goodness
they can pay for. With the added black market risk tax of
course.
/Can't wait for black market Coke with real cocaine and cane
sugar.
|9.18.09 @ 7:34PM|#
I really hope the bottlers and distributors take this douche at his word an agree to stop delivering EVERY product they make to any store in SF for a week or two. He wouldn't be elected dog catcher after the first riot.
B|9.19.09 @ 12:01AM|#
I have no fucking sympathy, at all, for the people in the city of San Francisco who have to pay these fucking taxes, because they willingly elect, by huge fucking margins, the pieces of shit who think it is the job of the government to make sure "people make the right decisions". Until those clowns in that dysfunctional piece of shit city quit voting to make 99% of the government Democrat-run, they deserve whatever the fuck they get.
|9.19.09 @ 1:09PM|#
The idea
doesn't even work for its intended purpose:
The results showed no statistically significant associations between state-level soda taxes and adolescent BMI. Only a weak economic and statistically significant effect was found between vending machine soda tax rates and BMI among teens at risk for overweight.
Current state-level tax rates are not found to be significantly associated with adolescent weight outcomes. It is likely that taxes would need to be raised substantially to detect significant associations between taxes and adolescent weight.
Given the conclusion, we probably should expect a substantial tax
shortly.
Pepe|9.19.09 @ 1:40PM|#
Yet another stupidly symbolic and pointless proposal by Newsom.
A couple years ago the city banned plastic bags. Of course they
only banned them at large supermarkets, not mom and pop stores.
There are plenty of plastic bags still littering the streets of San
Francisco and making Mother Earth cry.
This one is even more pointless. People in SF already go to
neighboring Daly City to shop at evil big box stores and avoid
stupid taxes and regulations like this one. So Daly City can enjoy
even more tax revenues, fat people will keep on enjoying their
sugar, and anyone who is too lazy to drive down the peninsula a few
miles can just buy their coke at the local liquor store instead of
Safeway and avoid the tax that way.
Pepe|9.19.09 @ 1:45PM|#
"I have no fucking sympathy, at all, for the people in the city
of San Francisco who have to pay these fucking taxes, because they
willingly elect, by huge fucking margins, the pieces of shit who
think it is the job of the government to make sure "people make the
right decisions""
You have a point. Although as a libertarian and former resident of
that city until a year ago, I have to say you don't really have
much of a choice in a typical election. It's generally a choice
between candidate A liberal Democrat and candidate B Green party
socialist. Newsom actually represents the more pro business choice
believe it or not.
Jay Dubs|9.20.09 @ 3:06AM|#
"really? since when is it the government's responsibility to
decide what is the 'right' choice. what is 'right' in the eye of
one person is likely wrong in the eyes of another. an individual
being able to decide what is 'right' for themselves is part and
parcel of liberty and freedom.
it is also funny how this liberal douche bag equates taxing
something as 'help'. of course it is obvious he thinks he knows
what is best for the lowly, confused and uneducated peons he rules
over. and because he knows best, he must 'help' them to see the
light by taking more of their money."
Generally, I agree with you (why else would I be on a libertarian
website), but it isn't so black and white. Who decided we have
rights as individuals? Who decided how we would govern ourselves?
How and who would make the laws or if laws were even necessary?
Etc.
Well, what happened was that some influential people got together
and, with the tacit acquiescence of "the people," formed a
government - i.e. the social contract (at least according to the
liberal tradition) - and this government is, in my post-modern
eyes, the ultimate source of the rights your claim.
If these rights are thus contingent, then the matter of what
choices should be left up to individuals is not cut in stone, it is
open to public debate (in other words, a constant renegotiation of
the social contract). If the people of San Fran decide they want a
soda tax, then hell, they should get a soda tax.
|9.20.09 @ 4:57PM|#
"It makes sense for the government to help people to make the
right choices,"
Seriously? We don't, and never have, needed the government to help
us make the right choices. And who exactly will be deciding what is
right? I don't need a government to tell me that soda is bad, and I
certainly don't want one that taxes me for choosing to drink the
stuff. What's next, a ban on Twinkies?
|9.20.09 @ 9:53PM|#
I don't see what all the fuss is about. If I have to pay a few more cents for my diet coke so California doesn't go broke or so we can all have health care, I'm definitely game. http://www.newsy.com/videos/hard_talk_on_soft_drinks
T|9.21.09 @ 11:54AM|#
I live in Argentina right now. The food here is just as
unhealthy as the states. Everything you eat is Red Meat with a lot
of bread, tons of pizza, empanadas. Hot dogs, cheeseburgers, same
shit as the states. Also, everyone drinks normal soda. They call
you a pussy if you get a diet coke. And guess what? There are
hardly no FAT people here.
I don´t know what makes Americans fat, but I think it is a lot more
complicated than drinking soda and the idea of taxing soda "try to
curb a leading cause of obesity and diabetes" is insane.
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