New tax on soda & alcohol

[sadaist]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A tax on soft drinks and other sweetened beverages and higher taxes on alcohol are among the options U.S. lawmakers will consider to pay for expanded healthcare coverage, a Senate report said on Monday.

The beverage taxes were among the options outlined in a Senate Finance Committee report that panel members will review in a closed-door session on Wednesday.

Senators will look at a mix of taxes and cost savings to pay for a healthcare overhaul that aims to provide affordable medical coverage for all Americans, including an estimated 46 million who have no insurance.

Wednesday's session will likely be contentious as lawmakers search for politically palatable ways to finance health reform amid soaring budget deficits.

President Barack Obama wants Congress to pass the overhaul by the end of the year. He has called for a $634 billion "reserve fund" in his budget as a downpayment toward expanding coverage to the uninsured.

Many analysts believe the final cost is likely to be much higher. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, and other Democrats, argue that an overhaul of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system is needed to control soaring costs.

"Without healthcare reform, healthcare spending will reach $4.4 trillion by 2018," Baucus said in a statement accompanying the release of the possible financing options.

The committee is expected to draft healthcare legislation next month with aim of winning Senate passage by August. The House of Representatives is working on a similar timetable.

Raising taxes on sweetened beverages would provide an added benefit in helping to fight obesity, which drives up healthcare costs, the committee report said. The proposal calls for no tax on artificially sweetened drinks.

Another option would raise taxes on all types of alcohol and apply a standard rate. Taxes now are lower for beer and wine, which are based on volume, than for distilled spirits, which are based on alcohol content.

Other options include limiting some of the current federal tax subsidies for healthcare, which amounted to $194.2 billion in 2008. In particular, lawmakers are looking at limiting a tax break for employer-provided health insurance, a proposal opposed by labor unions.

Lawmakers are also looking at cost savings in the Medicare and Medicaid health programs for the elderly and poor, including requiring high-income earners to pay more for their Medicare drug coverage.

U.S. lawmakers weigh beverage taxes in health revamp on Yahoo! Health

[hideyoursheep]

The 46 or 47 million without health care was the same figure thrown around during the '04 campaign. That number should be quite higher now with less people employed, and less businesses left who used to employ.

I detect a hint of dishonesty..

[sadaist]

Providing medical insurance for the uninsured doesn't solve the root problem.

Why are they uninsured?
Are health care costs too high?
are they unemployed?
do they choose not to carry insurance?
are they illegal immigrants?
is there a pre-existing condition that makes them ineligible?

Just seems like another problem the government is attempting to solve by throwing tons of money at it.

As for the obesity argument mentioned, who the fuck are they to tell Americans what they should weigh? If someone wants to buy a Pepsi, they shouldn't have to pay what basically boils down to a "penalty tax" for it. I'm sure if we had the height & weight of every member of congress, that a large majority of them would be considered medically overweight and/or obese following standard guidelines and accepted charts.

And a soda alone does not make one obese or even slightly overweight. A 12-pack a day, along with heavy meals & a sedimentary lifestyle does (and unfortunate metabolisms in some). Just look at what Michael Phelps eats for breakfast yet is healthy as an ox and probably has an extremely low body fat content.

This government is on a path where they will not be satisfied until they receive every last penny of what we earn, then decide what to provide for us. They're already telling us what we can drive & eat, and what type of light bulbs we need to use.

[Kristy]

You'd think Obama would simplify this and tax only the obese and homeless.

But this is pure bullshit:

"And a soda alone does not make one obese or even slightly overweight. A 12-pack a day, along with heavy meals & a sedimentary lifestyle does (and unfortunate metabolisms in some). Just look at what Michael Phelps eats for breakfast yet is healthy as an ox and probably has an extremely low body fat content."

The average consumption of a "soda" (sorry, I live in the western part of the country) is not one but more along 4 to 5/d which would average up to 18 cans of that highly sugary shit in the blood system of a 9 to 24 age demographic per week. Now just discounting the tooth decay alone where do all of those empty calories go? Most people who drink Pepsick are not Michael Phelps nor wake up at 4 a.m to undertake his workout regimen. What a weak, pathetic argument.

I give a fuck what Americans weigh! The obesity rate in this country alone is going to be the number health care issue in the next 5 to 10 years which is frightening with all the boomers growing older also needing health care. It's fucking sickening to see Americans not just "slightly" overweight but MASSIVELY overweight expecting an already overburdened health system to pay for their lack of proper diet and exercise.

I'm all for this tax simply on the basis that if you're going to over eat and drink you can also be responsible for your own liver transplant or when they unclog your fucking aorta.

[sadaist]

Most people who drink Pepsick are not Michael Phelps nor wake up at 4 a.m to undertake his workout regimen. What a weak, pathetic argument.

It wasn't an argument. Just pointing out that just because a person consumes a particular item deemed "bad", does not mean they will become overweight or unhealthy.

I give a fuck what Americans weigh!

Why? Are you one of those people that quietly snickers when an overweight person walks by? What you should be worried with is your own health, and the health of your family members.

It's fucking sickening to see Americans not just "slightly" overweight but MASSIVELY overweight expecting an already overburdened health system to pay for their lack of proper diet and exercise.

And why would they "expect" this? Because they have been told to expect this and that the government will take care of everything. What ever happened to personal responsibility? Why should I have to pay extra on my couple of sodas a day for the health care of people who consume 12? For their health care? But why? No one else is paying for my health care.

Taxing the responsible to pay for the irresponsible is not an answer. This is throwing money in the wrong direction. Why don't these people have health care? If we don't fix the root causes, the problem will never be solved.

Now just discounting the tooth decay....

Ah shit, here comes a dental tax to pay for crowns & implants on the uninsured.

[Kristy]

Are you one of those people that quietly snickers when an overweight person walks by? What you should be worried with is your own health, and the health of your family members.

And why would they "expect" this? Because they have been told to expect this and that the government will take care of everything. What ever happened to personal responsibility? Why should I have to pay extra on my couple of sodas a day for the health care of people who consume 12? For their health care? But why? No one else is paying for my health care.

Taxing the responsible to pay for the irresponsible is not an answer. This is throwing money in the wrong direction. Why don't these people have health care? If we don't fix the root causes, the problem will never be solved

As for your first question, I not so much "snicker" as I do show disgust for them. Granted, not everyone in this county who is massively overweight became that way be sedimentary lifestyle and/or over eating. But when I see a person carrying a bag from Wendy's going back to his car and then seeing that car become closer to the ground by two to three inches...well, that's just...sad.

And I do take care of my health! I have studied and practice Tang Soo Do for the past 11 years of my life (used to teach it until my work schedule became to busy), jog, ride and take out my dog for walks regularly. I have a border collie. I have to! I don't EVER eat at Subway, McDonald's or any other high-caloric, bathed in grease, high-carbohydrate, high-sodium corner "restaurant." Apart from my annual checkups I canceled my health insurance so can't really say I see a doctor on a regular basis. And really, none of that means shit. I could drop the fuck dead tomorrow from whatever.

As to your second point of why obese people should "expect" some sort of health care. Truth is, they have already been expecting it for the past 15 years. You talk like this is something new but ask any E.R. physician what the percentage is of what they see in obesity-related illness coming through their door without insurance and those numbers would be staggering. Someone has to pay for this so why not not make the fast food industry have at least a modicum of fucking responsibility by taxing their consumers? They sure as shit are not putting any resources into the proper education of nutrition of what they sell.The liquor industry has been doing this for years with a sin tax so why not with the food/beverage?

There is no root cause "fix" for the increasing obesity problem in this country. You can't make people exercise because that would go against your argument that the government is making people do something they don't want to do. You can't regulate what these places put in their food/beverages apart from FDA standards (which are a joke) because again, that would mean more government intrusion. So tell me what is there left to do when someone's choice becomes a health epidemic that is already costing us?

[ELVIS]

Why are they uninsured?
Are health care costs too high?
are they unemployed?
do they choose not to carry insurance?
are they illegal immigrants?
is there a pre-existing condition that makes them ineligibl.

All of the above and then some...

[sadaist]

There is no root cause "fix" for the increasing obesity problem in this country.

Either I was misunderstood or unclear. There is a root cause of why people don't have health insurance. Several in fact. Rather than tax everyone to pay for health care, why aren't we addressing the reasons people don't have it in the first place?

But as you state, you chose to cancel your health care and not pay the premiums. So if something tragic happened to you, who's going to foot the bill? Me and my taxes. Who's paying for mine? Me and what's left after taxes. That doesn't really sound fair to me.

[Kristy]

But as you state, you chose to cancel your health care and not pay the premiums. So if something tragic happened to you, who's going to foot the bill? Me and my taxes. Who's paying for mine? Me and what's left after taxes. That doesn't really sound fair to me.

Most likely myself for the next 20 years.

[Nitro Express]

Since the US is sinking into fascism, let's just gas the fat people to death and use the corpses for fertilizer too feed the hungry. That would save some money.

[Nitro Express]

I see us heading for a tax revolt in the future. There is a breaking point. Whether it's conspiracy or incompetance the result will be a lot of pissed off people because they will be paying taxes up the ass with no real job opportunities because extreme taxes and outsourcing send the real economy elswhere. All the govt. can do is tax, print money, and hire more beurocrats to run their programs. Historically, taxing to prosperity doesn't work.

[Nitro Express]

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[Nickdfresh]

Providing medical insurance for the uninsured doesn't solve the root problem.

Why are they uninsured?
Are health care costs too high?
are they unemployed?
do they choose not to carry insurance?
are they illegal immigrants?
is there a pre-existing condition that makes them ineligible?

Just seems like another problem the government is attempting to solve by throwing tons of money at it.

Um, we're already throwing tons of fucking money at it! We spend more on healthcare, and cover less people, than any other industrialized country...

As for the obesity argument mentioned, who the fuck are they to tell Americans what they should weigh? If someone wants to buy a Pepsi, they shouldn't have to pay what basically boils down to a "penalty tax" for it. I'm sure if we had the height & weight of every member of congress, that a large majority of them would be considered medically overweight and/or obese following standard guidelines and accepted charts...

Right! Except that fat people, smokers, alcoholics, et al take up far more resources for their shitty habits than people who live comparable healthy lifestyles...

[FORD]

The problem with soda and obesity isn't taxes, it's subsidies.

Specifically the subsidies of Monsanto and ADM so they can produce millions of gallons of high fructose corn poison, which is in most of the soda, and far too many other food items on the grocery store shelves.

Buy the new/old Pepsi Throwback/Mountain Dew Throwback even if you're not a Pepsi drinker. Or buy the Kosher Coke, if you live in area with enough of a Jewish population to have some still hanging around a store. This sends a positive message to the companies "Keep making your stuff with REAL sugar and I'll keep buying it".

Or buy the MexiCoke (let's face it, it tastes better in glass bottles), Jones Soda, Hansen's, Thomas Kemper, Red Bull Cola, Dublin Dr. Pepper (only in Texas) or any of the other smaller brands producing sugar sweetened beverages, and as their sales go up, it's a negative message to Coke/Pepsi telling them what sales they will continue to lose as long as they keep using the corn poison.

Money talks.....
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[ELVIS]

Since the US is sinking into fascism, let's just gas the fat people to death and use the corpses for fertilizer too feed the hungry. That would save some money.

That's exactly where an idea like this could end up...