Americans Against Food Taxes.. (what a crock)

[SoCalDem]

http://nofoodtaxes.com/?gclid=COTRjJyV2psCFR0Sagoda2TY_w

If we are to follow their logic, that "taxes never made anyone healthier", then why all the taxes on tobacco & liquor? I specifically remember that the taxation of these legal products (both made to be ingested in one form or another) was EXACTLY that.. to make people healthier, and to use the "tax money" to try and persuade people to NOT use these products.

Apparently "sody-pop" & the ubiquitous juice box, are somehow, sacred now:)

[Vinca]

1. I love the television commercial. Mom, Dad and the kids

on a camping trip just sitting around swilling soda and rotting their teeth. People who look as healthy as the actors in the ad wouldn't get within a mile of the stuff.

[SoCalDem]

2. When we camped, we got a lousy Army Surplus canteen

full of luke warm metallic-tasting water..and when we ran out, we refilled it from the stream we were closest to..

[MadHound]

3. What is wrong with no sales tax on food?

Here in Missouri, there is no state sales tax on food bought in grocery stores or farmers markets. It has benefited the poor and middle class immensely, and allowed many poor people to increase the quality of their food a bit. It has attracted more people to farmer's markets and increased sales of organic food overall.

The "no tax" mantra is not always a right wing thing, though I agree that is a RW site you're linked to. Sometimes it is good to lower taxes, or do away with them in order to benefit the poorer among us.

[MADem]

4. I agree that food shouldn't be taxed, as a rule.

The Canadians tax food, and they punish people for not being able to cook! Those pizza ingredients are tax free, but that frozen pizza gets a tax on it!

[SoCalDem]

5. Taxes on highly processed & fast foods ..sounds like a great idea to me

and on snack foods too..

Hell , why not a 10-cents-a-burger tax:)

[MADem]

6. Way to penalize the poor and homeless!

You aren't hurting the rich with that tax--you're hurting the woman living in the cheap hotel/homeless shelter with her three kids and no access to a stove or money to pay an electric/gas bill. You're screwing over the starving college student in the dorm or crappy apartment who's living day to day. You're screwing over the guy who wants that burrito or burger who lives under the bridge.

You aren't hurting the rich--they could give a shit about how much it costs to eat at Burger King, and they have no idea if Jeeves the Butler bought that pizza, or he cooked it for his employers out of a DiGiorno box, or had "cook" prepare it.

It's a dumb idea. Well meaning, but dumb. There's unintended consequences associated with it, that hurt the least of our brethren, and impact THEM most severely.

[michaeljwjr]

12. Tax the homeless?

Are you serious, this isn't a tax on the homeless or the poor single mothers. If they were so worried about cost effectiveness, water is really cheap. They aren't planning on taxing vegetables or fruit, they are planning on taxing the people who are going to need the medical coverage later in life. If you want to abuse your kids by giving them Soda and Juice Like Liquid, then you better be ready to pay the price. As far as I'm concerned they should tax candy as well, and a fast food tax, if you like shoving Quarter Pounders and Whoppers in your face, you better be paying into the medical system that is going to have fix you later. They should just call it what it is, a "Fat Tax"

[MADem]

21. Way to NOT READ what I wrote. Oh, and "welcome" to DU.

I don't know how long you'll be staying this time, but whatever.

A convenience food tax IS a tax on the homeless--they don't have stoves and fridges, see? They can't take home that fresh-killed chicken and roast it at home, because....they have no home!

[bobbolink]

18. Thank you so very mjuch, Your dime a burger tax would certainly help homeless people like me.

Did it every occur to you that not EVERYONE is in your situation?

[Dogmudgeon]

7. It's actually a "No Soda Tax" campaign

It's like calling Estate Taxes "the Death Tax".

--d!

[CTyankee]

9. But if it's junk food, all you are really doing is incentivizing people to buy a healthier,

non taxed article. I am very much opposed to a food tax. I don't consider sugary drinks "food." Even fruit juice should be limited in your diet and should be replaced with the fruit itself. I have cut down drastically on my juice intake over the years with no discernable bad health outcomes (cuts calories, too, and the fruit itself provides fiber and other nutrients that the juice does not).

[michaeljwjr]

14. This is not a Food Tax, it's Fat Insurance

I completely agree with you. People that consume those products should have to pay a little bit every time they do, to cover the medical costs of having to take care of them when they get older. You can call it Fat Insurance.

[CTyankee]

20. Not only fat people consume these foods/drinks. Lots of people who are not already fat

consume them, including children, who will grow up to be fat as a result. Then, their health outcomes will be a LOT worse than if they had never started to consume them. I hope you are not defending THEM. They are victimizing people who buy them. Why do you like them?

[ThomWV]

15. That is not what this organization is about.

This organization is distorting their message to give the impression that they want no taxes on any food, but if you pay attention to their ads what they are really trying to do is stop any tax on artificial sweetened products, specifically "Soda" and I think the other phrase they use is "juice drinks". Its the sugar industry, plain and simple.

[slackmaster]

8. Taxes on tobacco and liquor have nothing to do with making anyone healthier

They make government richer and poor people poorer.

I specifically remember that the taxation of these legal products (both made to be ingested in one form or another) was EXACTLY that.. to make people healthier, and to use the "tax money" to try and persuade people to NOT use these products.

That may have been the original intent, but it's created a vicious circle in which government is dependent on production, commerce, and consumption of those products for revenue.

[CTyankee]

10. Some people will change their habits to avoid the tax but there will be some who won't.

I see no problem in taxing these products (I don't smoke any more but I do drink wine and am happy to pay my fair share of taxes on it).

[slackmaster]

11. I wouldn't mind seeing commercial production of tobacco banned

If people want to grow it themselves for personal use or barter, that would be better than the system we have now.

[KharmaTrain]

25. They Just Go Underground...

I know plenty of smokers who have found alternative ways to get their smokes...mail order from abroad. Not only do they avoid the federal taxes but the state ones as well.

While some people use a tax hike to quit, the vast majority either pay up and many more just go "contraband". Now if the government offered FREE programs and a tax incentive to quit...offering help rather than preying off their habit, then you'd see many more quitting.

[depakid]

22. Sure they do!

Every time there's a hike in tobacco taxes- a certain amount of people cut down or quit. Studies have actually looked at this.

Same would likely apply to soda and junk food. Otherwise, there wouldn't be this big money PR campaign.

[ThomWV]

13. "Soda" and "juice drinks" are what they say, Corn syrup and other sugar is what they mean.

[Vidar]

16. In Michigan, we don't have sales tax on food. Obviously we have other problems.

[SOS]

17. "Americans"

Based on the list of "coalition members" they need to rename this abomination.

"Giant Corporations Protecting Short Term Profits" would be much more honest.

http://nofoodtaxes.com/about/

[depakid]

23. The usual suspects

They sure do make America "great."

[blogslut]

19. The ad is created by the same people that brought us "Harry & Louise"

Goddard Claussen:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Goddard_Claussen

*Note* the WHOIS for the site:

http://whois.domaintools.com/nofoodtaxes.com

*Note* a partial client list for http://www.goddardclaussen.com/Issue-Advocacy-and-Branding-portfolio.aspx">Goddard Claussen:

American Council of Life Insurers
AstraZeneca
Californians to Stop Unfair Rate Increases
Coalition for Responsible Healthcare Reform
Floridians for Lower Insurance Costs
Pacific Life

[Mari333]

26. EXcellent catch....! nt

[Obamanaut]

24. Having a tax on - everything - could help pay for the health care

that everyone needs.

There are areas where food, even unprepared food, is taxed, but the fuel tax is also lower in those areas.

Having such a tax on everything, some of which can be used for health care, allows everyone to be involved in paying not only for his/her own health care but that of everyone else as well. Even the poor can be involved. They buy food, thus paying for health care. Wealthy people buy big ticket items - jets, boats, stocks, bonds - they also are paying for health care, even for those who don't buy or use those big ticket items.