Last month, Rep. Rosa DeLauro
(D-Conn.) proposed the
SWEET Act, an excise tax on sweetened beverages. The tax, which has
been billed as a national soda tax, would lay a
one-cent duty on every teaspoon of sugar in soft drinks and other
beverages. The proposal is intended “to
curb obesity, diabetes, and the resulting health care costs.”
It would add about
50 or 60 cents to the average cost of a six-pack of soda.
Why is this a good idea?
“When a two-liter cola is 99 cents and blueberries are over
three dollars, something has gone very wrong,”
DeLauro told attendees.
For the record, a pint of blueberries contains more
than 40g of sugar. That’s about as
much sugar as you’ll find in a pint of soda.
Rep. DeLauro’s bill, H.R.
5279, would exclude calorically
sweet drinks I can only suspect that DeLauro and her Connecticut
constituents enjoy, including soy, rice, or dairy-based milk
products, pure fruit and vegetable juices, and alcohol
beverages.
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