We have heard a gazillion times from the NRA that guns don't kill people. (yeah, right!) Consistent with Jorge Luis Borges' observation that all we do is retell stories, now Coca Cola offers its own variation of guns don't kill people. This time, it is "Coke didn't make America fat" .... aww, how "sweet" that sounds to my gut :-) Before I head to the fridge and get myself a can of soda, let me also note that this argument was presented as an op-ed by Coke's CEO in the Wall Street Journal. I tell you, the joke could not get any better.
Now, when I am opposed to federal taxes on soda, it is not because I think sodas are some super-health drinks. I oppose taxation because (a) this is the kind of policy issue that is best left to state and local governments, (b) the tax has to be very, very, high in order to provide a strong disincentive, and there is no way we would impose that level of a tax anyway, and (c) getting rid of the subsidies for corn and sugar itself will increase the price of soda by an amount comparable to any tax we might add.
So, you see, one does not need a fake argument on sodas and obesity in order to oppose a tax on sodas. I wish the Coke CEO had not attempted some crazy arguments.
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