Every jurisdiction needs to start taxing the sugary, unnecessary substances so that we enjoy subsidized healthcare thanks directly to the new revenues.
Moreover, the higher prices for the unhealthy food and drink would discourage us from continuing such bad, destructive habits for our health. More of us would buy healthier fare. In fact, part of the sugar-tax can even go towards subsidizing healthier food items.
I would lobby for a sugar-tax if I could.
Remember that the public is like the frog taking a bath: Tax something too high at once, and that's like trying to throw a frog in boiling water. The frog, we've been told, will jump out immediately. Likewise, a sudden high tax on a substance not taxed before will cause a public backlash.
But if the substances are given a pretty small tax at first, the public won't feel much of a difference. That's like bringing the frog into luke-warm water. Then we increase the tax by small increments periodically (monthly, bi-monthly, semi-annuallly; the jurisdiction decides.) That's like gradually raising the water temperature while the frog bathes. It doesn't mind; it stays in the tub.
That is why I would support a small starting tax, with small, gradual tax hikes to the substances we consume that cause an obesity and diabetes epidemic.
Youth diabetes rates soar, kids suffer:
'via Blog this'
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