Paterson's "Obesity Tax" Would Raise Price of Pop

As part of his desperate effort to close an estimated $15 billion budget deficit this year and next, Governor Paterson is proposing, among other things, a tax on roughly 15% of non-diet soft drinks, the Daily News reports. On Tuesday Paterson will officially announce his $121 billion budget, which emphasizes broad cuts in education and Medicaid. "I expect it to be an unmitigated disaster for health care institutions in New York," Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, tells the Times. The obesity tax would raise some $404 million a year, but the state shouldn't expect any revenue boost from teens like Amaury Garcia, 16, who works at a flower shop in Penn Station. She tells the News the tax would simply drive her to abstinence: "I don't like to buy Diet Coke. I'll just not buy any sodas if it goes up."

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By John Del Signore in Food on December 15, 2008 9:45 AM

Comments [rss]

Buck Owens

Look at the obese children! Makes me wonder if their parents use food stamps foot the McDonald's bill.

nycnewsjunkie

POP?!?!?!?

Are you kidding me? I just lost a lot of respect for this site.

Clarice City

I grew up calling it 'tonic'. Massachusetts. Wicked cool.

Jumphigh83

Time to leave Gotham and seek out a freemans state.

Jumphigh83

Good thing we have Big Brother watching out for us. We certainly wouldn't know what is good for us. This is BEYOND a disgrace. Welcome to America...check your rights at the boarder.

benitofool

Soda?!? Go back to south eastern Missouri, you bunch of posers.

No real New Yorker reads a blog about New York

p.s. just tax people without a genetic disorder who have a BMI > 30, why dontcha. or people with stinky feet.

kromelizard

How the fuck can this place call itself the Gothamist and still have the gall to call it pop? Go the fuck back to Ohio!

us jersey folk

So healthy adults like myself who are within the CDCs guidelines have the choice between paying extra for Coke in moderation or paying less for the unhealthier Diet Coke which is loaded with the carcinogenic aspartame. Oooh, and then the taxes used from the Coke can pay for the healthcare of the 300 lb woman who orders the Big Mac and Diet Coke.

NannyState

Tax the fatties for clogging up our sewers and making us pay for 'digester eggs'.

MaiaW

I agree with you, 28 (29, your argument might make sense if this blog weren't ABOUT NEW YORK) but guys, the editors clearly just wanted to be able to say "Price of Pop" in the headline. It's a lot catchier than "Price of Soda!"

r1b2

All: I've lived in NY almost all my life. I once dated a gal from Utica NY who said "pop." I would tease her by saying it, and it kind of stuck. I say it. My kids tease me because I say it, but I do. Why does this bother you all so horribly? I say y'all because it often fits. I say reckon. I don't know why. How come it bothers you so much if folks speak differently than you do. I don't mean Sarah Palin different; she's an idiot. But there are regional variations. Deal with it. Surely you have something else going on in your lives.

Shinobi Shaw

Oh for criss sake, New York is a multi-cultural city with people from all over the world (including other states). If someone calls Soda 'pop' because that's what they know it as, it's fine. More diversity.

People from the Midwest and the south come here, GET OVER IT.

Second, if you're going to drink soda, I suggest do it once in a while and drink REGULAR. Diet soda has the toxic chemical known as ASPARTAME.

that girl

Thank god for #29....preach!

ides_of_march

What hypocricy.

Why then does the same government give away food stamps that can be used to purchase soda, sugary cereals and other fat-inducing junk food?

If the government wants to stop obesity how about limiting food stamps to the healthy staples like milk, rice, beans and fresh produce?

Brooklynbobby

First they taxed the smokers to death and now they're going after sweet-eaters. It's fucking ridiculous!!! My mother died years ago and I don't need a replacement!!!

Bottomless Chips

This country's headed down the wrong path. It's sad that taxes like these even have a whimper of support.

Steven

Why not tax the companies who put out garbage for food and drinks? Make them produce more healthy food for a cheaper price.

I really was liking Paterson after he took office, but lately he is no different from any other politician out there.

All NYS knows how to do is TAX,TAX,TAX. Let's just tax everything. Case in point the amazon tax.

safetytowhere

EVERYBODY LOOK AT ME. I AM A REAL NEW YORKER BECAUSE I SAY "SODA" INSTEAD OF "POP." BLAH BLAH THE MIDWEST SUCKS. BLAH BLAH. GO HOME. I AM A REAL NEW YORKER.

Bickle

Mr. Del Signore, PLEASE EDIT THE ENTRY AND CHANGE "POP" TO "SODA" for the love of god.

Spirit of 76

I don't understand why people drink soda anyway. I'd rather have a good bottle of juice or milk.

MrCow

pop?? really?

also, diet soda is even worse for you than regular because of all the chemicals they put in it.

fishfryin

Huffy- the problem is that fat people everywhere end up damaging our society more than just visually by filling up our hospitals, spending billions a year to treat preventable illnesses, making the MTA spend millions to make new subway cars to fit their gigantic asses, etc. somehow these idiots are not embarrassed enough just by the fact that they are disgusting. we may need to take alternative action

Gothampc

In these times of job cuts, is it wise to be taxing something popular like soda? What will this tax do to the workers at the soda plants, and the distributors and the cashiers that sell it?

If the goal is to get people to lead healthier lifestyles, then why not make good food cheaper rather than bad food more expensive? People eat at McDonalds because they can't afford anything else.

To quote President-elect Obama "Have you seen the price of arugula at Whole Foods?"

las2381

Taxing regular soda and calling it an obesity tax is ridiculous. Just because it is "Diet" does not mean that is is better for you. Actually some studies have shown that the more diet soda you drink, the more weight you gain. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/04/earlyshow/contributors/emilysenay/main2330142.shtml

Diet soda also contains aspartame which can cause an increased risk of cancer.

This whole taxation thing is ridiculous. Tax butter, whole milk, french fries, etc if you are going by that logic. It is all about moderation.

Would people be ok with this is they charged you more to have a regular beer. Or what about taxing you for buying ground red meat instead of ground turkey.

It is stupid. Just raise the deposit on bottles or raise taxes in general. I'm so sick of all of these stupid little taxes that are trying to get passed because they "help" obesity or the environment.

It is just away for them to try to gain support for creating revenue through taxing.

KiljoyWasHere

Why wouldn't you just tax all soda? This raises too many questions about what to do with seltzer and Tab.

aveB4life

look at the guns on that kid!

TK

What about taxing juice boxes instead? Or how about breakfast cereal?

FrankMartin

EricRoberts

That's rich, rich in high fructose corn syrup!

This sense of doom I have is only increased when politicians act or speak. Let's just legalize drugs and tax that.

whitecastlerock

Fuck you Paterson...

MT

@spnder: WOW! I had no idea the 'soda' drinkers were in the geographic minority. That map is such a fun find!

(I'll still say 'soda' until I die though)

EricRoberts

You have to love our government. Federally we subsidize high fructose corn syrup so it ends up in every product, locally we tax it.

Wza

Psht..pop?

It's soda.

Get it right.

thefacts

Will 4% milk be taxed and fat-free not?

spnder

"Pop???? Go back to Seattleist."

Looking at the Pop v. Soda v. Coke map, I was shocked to find that Seattle shares the 'pop' kinship with the midwest. Thankfully I moved here from the 'soda' friendly environs of California.

http://tastyresearch.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/popvssodamap.png

As for the tax, it's fine by me. Taxing stuff seems to impact behavior better than government warnings...

QM

This is NY, we call it soda here. Take your pop back to the midwest, transplant.

Huffy6241

Why should I pay more for soda with sugar in it because there are people with no self control and poor dietary habits?

Oh yea - for the children. Think of the children...

Seriously - eating healthy and taking care of yourself is a great habit to encourage. But taxing people to encourage healthy behavior at the expense of everyone - even those that exhibit self control and moderation - is unfair.

The positives of eating right and exercise are SELF EVIDENT. Do we really need to tax people for making poor health decisions?

fugothamist

i enjoy a soda pop now & again

i am not fat

would never put the "diet" soda poison in my body, so opt for a regular

of course i should be punished for that

of course

Felix Hoenikker

7

Ha! Only people in/from flyover call it 'pop'.

oscar_madison

Patently unfair to people who are not fat fuck lazy selfish scumbags.

Alex

Pop????

Go back to Seattleist.

babyhitler

As Baudelaire said, "Beauty is for those who only see. Real beauty is for those who feel." Now.. if you're a fat piece of stinking hog, you should like that one

JRod5417

That kid looks like the spawn of the Pillsbury dough boy and Michelin man.

r1b2

Then, Amaury, the tax worked. It got you to NOT buy sugar soda pop. As a nation we're too frickin' fat. I see 3-year olds walking with their parents drinking bottles of Coke. It's pathetic.

kane

I think part of the reason for the tax (behind, of course, the revenue created from it) is to drive people to drink regular soda less, so Garcia seems to be proving the governor's point rather than sticking it to him.