Our Assemblyman Bill Monning
is sponsoring a bill, AB 669, which proposes a "penny-an-ounce" tax on all
"sweetened" beverages because, he claims, the sugar in these beverages cause
health problems leading to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and
hypertension. Moreover, he
compares this health threat to that of smoking cigarettes.
The
concept here is that "we", the general public, if left alone, cannot determine
proper dietary habits, so the State of California (Big Brother) must step in
and tax all those bad things we eat which will cause us to select a more
healthful diet.
Possibly, Mr. Monning is
right in his assessment. It seems
no one is willing to accept responsibility for poor eating habits. Fast food chains are facing litigation
because they sell fatty foods and many of their customers are overweight;
therefore, the food chain should be held accountable for providing them with
the food they had mistakenly ordered.
Obviously, we are a mere bug caught up in the sea of life - powerless to
make proper decisions; hence, it must always be someone else's fault - so why
not leave it up to our Legislators to correct our bad habits.
The
comparison of sugar consumption with cigarette smoking is disturbing. The cigarette tax resulted in a massive
advertising campaign to stop smoking.
A more thoughtful use of this tax might have been for research and a
possible cure of lung cancer - a benefit to everyone. Accordingly, if AB 669 should actually pass (which is
unlikely), it would be a terrible misuse of tax funds to advertise against
beverages containing sugar.
The
real issue here is the fact our Legislature has been passing more than one
thousand laws every year - many, of which, restrict the individual selection
process. The idea that an adult is
required by law to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle is the beginning of the
end of individual responsibility for one's own acts. We know, for example, adults should not be allowed to
determine whether seat belts are necessary. Big Brother knows best.
I
cannot believe that creating a new law to take the place of responsible "adult"
behavior is beneficial to our society, and to penalize the human decision
process by tacking on a tax is outrageous!