Class-links

• The blog regarding the Expression of Anti-Muslim Feelings in the U.S. explores the trends in society. It discusses current issues such as the Quran burning incident and the Ground Zero mosque debate to prove the existence of these negative feelings.  Personal experiences and beliefs enhance the arguments of the blog because the writer has both experienced and witnessed anti-Muslim feelings. The use of videos and a poll make the blog interactive and fun to follow.

• The Holy War is a topic that I, as a Christian, should be interested in. Prior to the blog project, I had barely any knowledge on this issue which is hard to believe because the war has been going on long enough now. Now that I have been following this blog, I have acquired information from the author and although I had no opinion to change in the first place, I now have a stance. It was interesting to see how the opinion of the author changed over the month of intense research he pursued.

• The Illegal Immigration Issues blog was also an interesting find. The beginning of the blog introduced the history of illegal immigration and provided a lot of statistics regarding the number or people crossing the border and things of that sort. It offers a realistic view on the subject- it most likely will not be resolved in the near future although the writer argues something needs to be done soon.

Links

Food democracy provides statistics involving soft drinks, ranging from obesity to consumption to revenue generated.

Pediatrics displays the outcome of a study that researched the effects of decreasing soda consumption which proves that SSBs do affect health.

The New York Academy of Medicine is leading a petition to impose the SSB tax, which is supported by hundreds of other organizations and citizens. They bluntly list their evidence that supports their argument.

This eclectic research brief provides evidence that SSBs are a trigger for unhealthiness and delves into the promising outcome of imposing a tax.

Target Population shows the potential correlation between the efficiency of cigarette tax and an SSB tax.

Dairy Makes Sense proves there are healthier and cheaper options than soda such as milk or water.

Wikipedia’s definition of excise and state taxes differentiated the two to allow further understanding of the SSB tax.

Economists present an unbiased approach of analyzing all aspects of the SSB tax.

Politicians currently running for office smartly refuse to acknowledge their support for the SSB tax.

Bellows and Roach explain how the nutritional choices made directly affect health not only weight-wise.

Lack of discussion

Although the SSB tax has not been directly addressed in the media as much as other issues, I believe the tax has stirred up a big discussion politically. Behind the scenes, there are politicians that are both for and against the tax. However, there are not a lot of politicians running for the upcoming elections openly supporting the tax. Politicians are smart enough to not campaign for the SSB tax because they know they won’t be elected if they plan to impose an additional tax. Americans feel as if we are being taxed to death.

Politicians currently in office, such as Governor Robertson in New York, play a bigger role in the support of the tax. Interestingly enough, he is not running for the upcoming elections. Kirstin Gillibrand is a supporter of fighting childhood obesity and programs advocating healthier lifestyles. It is very likely that she will fight for an SSB tax if she gets elected. However, she is currently remaining neutral on the subject. The other person running for Governor in New York, Chuck Schumer, refuses to comment on the tax. I find this interesting because it reinforces my idea that politicians always have plans that aren’t mentioned before they get elected. They only want to stand for things they know will get them elected by citizens. An SSB tax is just another tax, which is something all Americans do not want.

Self-analysis

Before completing this blog, my stance on the taxation of SSBs was biased because I have not consumed an SSB in a while- I can’t even recall when the last time was. I haven’t consumed SSBs for years because I knew they were unhealthy and the taste wasn’t always desirable. I solely drink milk and water.  Now that I have been thoroughly researching this topic for about a month, I have found evidence to enhance my support of reducing the consumption of SSBs and also sufficient reasons to tax SSBs. I examined the implications of consuming SSBs such as obesity and the struggle of the government to pay for healthcare.  I came to the conclusion that although taxation is something undesirable, this tax would change the dynamics of our country in a beneficial way. Primarily I thought the tax would just decrease consumption. The more websites I visited, the more I read about the impact taxes can have. Tax would bring in sufficient revenue for the government. The generated revenue could be used for educational programs to reduce childhood obesity or healthcare. Following the example of the cigarette tax, the SSB tax would be just as successful. The nutritional value of SSBs is just as empty as a pack of cigarettes. Researching has also broadened my knowledge of the difference between excise and state taxes. Excise taxes are taxes on the production of goods while state taxes are taxes imposed when a consumer purchases products. The issue of taxing SSBs is more complex than I originally thought. The analysis post forced me to explore the opposing side. Although avid drinkers of SSBs make arguments against the tax, they are just as biased as mine and sometimes not as logical because their lives revolve around the consumption of sugary drinks to make it through the day. If they researched as thoroughly as I have, their opinions and choices would perhaps be impacted.

political cartoon

http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/f7f7552f-7320-4443-931b-93c3d50abe03.html 

Implications

There are both positives and negatives to the taxing of SSBs.  The consequences of putting in place an SSB tax would benefit us more than the current situation is benefitting us. If the issue of SSB taxation remains unresolved, I am sure the government will find other means of taxing us. The consumption of SSBs will either remain constant with the current rates or even continue to increase.  The health of Americans overall will not improve since the rates of consumption will be unaltered. Therefore, the amount the government is paying for healthcare for those with diabetes and heart problems associated to obesity will also be just as high as it is currently.

Resolving the Issue of SSB Taxation

My proposition to resolve the debate over the SSB tax issue is to allow the local governments to make a decision whether or not they want an SSB excise tax. Since this is the lowest level of government, they have the most direct control over its citizens. They can look at the specific statistics of their area and decide if the health and financial stance needs assistance or not. The federal government should not impose a nationwide tax; however, they should encourage state governments to make a decision on whether or not they want to impose an additional excise tax.

State governments can impose excise taxes in order to assist both health crises and financial crises. 46 states have faced budget shortfalls in 2010. If states imposed an excise tax, their budget deficits would shrink. State governments can then use this money to get out of the millions 2010 marks the largest state budget shortfalls in history. Since states already have state taxes and/or small excise taxes, they might want to reconsider the amount of taxation and may decide to raise the amount of excise tax.