I hate almost all government. I tend to believe that almost nothing that they do actually benefits anyone except them and their own egos. I'm not saying anarchy would be better but sometimes I think the government tries to justify their existence by constantly meddling in the lives of the population. The population is getting sick of this shit.
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In a recent attempt at forcing the population to bend the knee to their every whim, the local government decided to implement at 17% soda tax in Philidelphia. Of course the official standpoint of this legislation was to cut down on the sugar intake of the citizenry, but I can see through this BS. They find popular products that sell really well, vilify them, and then tax them with impunity because "that thing is bad for you!"
We all know that Coca Cola and other such beverages are bad for us. We knows this, but people like it and we cant afford the organic vitamin-infused dragon-fruit mango kale frappe at Jamba juice for $12. This is a "let them eat cake" situation.
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I was actually delighted to see that the end result was the opposite of what those sanctimonious ass-hats in charge over in Philly had hoped.
The overall sales of soda drinks in the Philadelphia area dropped 51% and the amount of soda sales in the outlying areas grew by a dramatic amount suggesting that the people of Philly are not changing what they drink, they are just going somewhere else to get it.
The more favorable "healthy alternatives" saw no increase in sales.
soda distribution factories in the Philidelphia metropolitan area were forced to lay off 100 people (I'm not happy to see someone losing their job unless they are in the government, don't get the wrong idea)
There was a 30% drop in overall tax revenue from soda sales to the city.
I don't drink soda because I try to stay reasonably fit, but I don't want the government telling me that I can't drink it. I also don't like how these taxes are almost always levied on the people with the least amount of power. "sin taxes" almost always target the poorer communities because obviously those stupid poor people don't know how to run their own lives, therefore we will force them to do it our way.
I am a big believer in freedom even if said freedom is detrimental to your own well-being because I don't like the idea of anyone, or any group of people being able to determine what I should do with my own life provided it doesn't hurt anyone else. While I am disappointed that some people lost their jobs I am extremely happy to see these jerk-offs in elected positions get their "holier than thou" legislation shoved back in their faces in such an "FAIL" manor.
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I actually miss Tab, it was sugar-free too
We have the same issue here. The problem is they raised the soda drink prices and things like Soda Water went up as well. It was a sugar tax and things with no sugar also increased by a good 15 percent.
I only have sugar less drinks like Coke Zero but it does wind me up when we all know it is an excuse to bleed more money from us. We still have Tab here.
The people need to rise up, march down to their closest local government offices and protest this shit. And, by protest it, I mean they need to go down there, pull down their pants and start butt chugging soda for 72 hours. Make the government realize the folly of their mistake. While also making the general public miserable, it's a win-win!
I like the sound of this. Would definitely make the news 🤣
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In Scotland they started making stores charge for plastic bags to reduce the waste and environmental impact of them. The number of bags however hasn't decreased, people now just pay for them. Where does the money go though, hmm.
I remember Tab, yum!
They just started that bag buying bull in Oregon. People just spend money on paper bags. Its rather ridiculous.
Haha, it is isn't it!
The other problem is that it turns out that many of the reusable bags are not better for the environment. They don't last long enough to make up for the additional material that they use hence they create more waste overall.
So true. I had an argument in a supermarket over a lifetime bag which fell apart. They didn't do that one anymore so couldn't replace it despite having a near identical one!!?
By "lifetime" they just meant the bag had one. You didn't think they meant YOUR lifetime did you? ;)
Hahaha!! I will remember that! :0)
LOL.
That is hilarious. A lifetime that fell apart. LOL.
I am laughing looking back at how outraged I was :0D
I think government is a necessary evil and as such it should be as minimal as possible. I really liked the concept under which the U.S. was founded. Limited government. It just hasn't worked out that way.
As far as I know, Tab is still around. It just isn't nearly as popular and hence quite as widely available as it once was.
Aw the good ole soda tax. They did that in Seattle and the bulk wholesaler in the area, Costco, put the tax on their sales signs and suggested to customers to purchase sugary drinks outside the Seattle area. It is always amazing how astonished they sound when things back fire. Their inner circle says everyone wants it but no one is paying attention because most people work for a living. When the tax is too high, people work around it.
Good on ya Costco! I am sure that the politicians would prefer that the wool simply be over the population's eyes. I'm happy they exposed them.
unreal. Soon it will be like cigarettes where the actual product costs about a dollar and the tax is an additional $8. this is theft.
Typical bureaucrat stuff, thinking you can fix an issue with a tax or a form. Even thought everyone at this point knows sodas are bad for you, you should still be free to drink them, just like alcohol and tobacco, we are all going to die anyways and it's not the government job to keep you healthy, this is just another attempt at infiltration of people's lives lol
I don't really think they aimed to make the city healthier by doing this. It's more of "look, people spend money on this constantly. Let's make up an excuse to tax them, so we can send more dollars to our coffers."
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exactly... they justify it to the media by posting obesity epidemic information and what not but in the end it is all about revenue generation at the expense of the poor.
In the hood, we refer to that as running a pimp game. Here is an interesting fact. The pimp pays the prostitute with her own money. Money that she made and gives to him. He then gives her back her own money. With the government, we do not pay taxes. They take taxes. If they take too much, they give us some of it back (with no interest). And we are ecstatic to get a refund.
lol. Yeah, i was kind of rolling my eyes when people this year (in the US) were complaining about how their return was less than previous years but didn't even look (until prompted to do so) at what their overall tax burdan was. It turned out that most of them were paying less or around the same as they had before, they just didn't notice because no one pays attention to that part of their paychecks.
As a public school employee, I technically work for the government. :P I stopped drinking soda a long time ago as well. I get it occasionally and I can usually only drink a couple sips and then I am good. Mix it with some captain or jack though and I can handle it all night!
booze changes everything!
I've seen the news and have read a few comments and people are divided. I'm not against taxing what is not healthy but if this is the case, then let's be fair. If they tax these soft drinks that are not healthy then I expect those taxes to be used for something that really benefits people. Also I would expect a strict revision on all those products that are containing a lot of added crap, not just sugar. I did a post three months ago about fruit jams sold in the US, that contain 1/3 fruit and 2/3 sugar. How is that fair? How is that different from soft drinks?
i never knew that about jams.... i have to say it doesn't surprise me though.
It is sad though as half of the people don't know because they don't read food labels and the other half don't care because sugar is addictive.