Soda Tax

Miracle Tax Diet

I'm loving Nicholas Kristof lately. Gee-nius. The op/ed piece in the NYT linked to above is about a potential new tax on soda in New York proposed by Gov. Paterson. Some great take-aways from the article, which is short and I suggest you read in full:

In effect, the most promising cure for lung cancer [a tax on cigarettes] didn’t emerge from a medical research lab but from money-grubbing politicians. Likewise, the best cure for obesity may turn out to be not a pill but a tax...
Part of the solution must come from reforming agriculture so that we stop subsidizing corn that ends up as high fructose corn syrup inside soft drinks. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama on Wednesday chose Tom Vilsack, the former governor of Iowa who has longstanding ties to agribusiness interests, as agriculture secretary — his weakest selection so far.

The soft-drink industry will throw enormous resources into defeating the proposed New York tax on sugary drinks. We should stand behind Governor Paterson’s bold gesture. He is blazing a path that other states should follow.

Losing weight is never easy, but one of the most effective diets would start with a soft drink tax.