Soda Tax: It’s The Real Thing

“As calls mount for soda to be taxed because of its link to the nation’s obesity epidemic, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent tried this week to tar the tax as socialist, taking a page from the Republicans single-word playbook against health care reform, bailouts, and even President Obama’s back-to-school speeches. Kent told the Rotary Club of Atlanta that proposals to tax sugary drinks and trash food were ‘outrageous’ because ‘I’ve never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink.’ Kent added, ‘If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around.’ Kent is clearly worried because Obama, in the current issue of Men’s Health, said soda taxes should be explored. ‘There’s no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda,’ Obama said. ‘And every study that’s been done about obesity shows that there is a high correlation...

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/09/19/soda_tax_its_the_real_thing/