Economic Scene
Sodas a Tempting Tax Target
By DAVID LEONHARDT
Published: May 19, 2009
Click on the title of the NYT article above, read the story and then c'mon back.
[If you have trouble accessing the article, you can view it here.]
All done?
There's something seriously missing here...and it's not sugar. Any guesses? It's a disease that has made the swine flu debacle look like a common cold. In fact, it is the cause for many ailments (and not just obesity) suffered by folks all around the world. A whole host of health problems can be blamed on it. And while we're at it, we can blame our current economic crisis on it as well. Yep, the same thing that causes all sorts of health issues also causes economic disaster. And why stop there...let's pin global climate change (and an array of other environmental disorders) and social injustices of every sort on it as well.
So what the heck am I talking about? I'm talking about something that we lost many, many moons ago and have just now realized that it has gone missing. We've lived without it for years and like an old toy, completely forgot that we ever had it. Now it's time to crawl up into the attic and sort through the trunks so that we can pull it out again and remember the good 'ol days.
I'm talking about "ACCOUNTABILITY." Those that know me are all too aware of the fact that I hold accountability as the single most important element relative to our place on this Earth. Accountability to ourselves, to the planet and to its constituents drives all that I do and all that I design in my firm's sustainability initiatives. People (and especially businesses) in industrialized nations have given up on each other as well as on the land that we occupy; we disregard the employee, the consumer, the vendor, the animals, the forests, the seas (and now even space -- we need some recycling bins up there!). We take what we do and how we do it for granted. We assume that we are with infinite resources (see The Story of Stuff) and can spare infinite lives. We shift responsibility, burden and obligation, while seeking to reap all the gain. How many of us, and how many businesses, can say to themselves that through every part of their being, they have attempted to stay conscious enough so as to consider and respect every other human, animal, plant and the general space that we occupy? Is it too far fetched to believe that everyone could measure (or at least identify) their own impact on the the rest of us (as well as themselves) and in the event the impact is negative, do something about it? Let's break it down simply...when you leave behind a piece of trash on the street...who do we assume is going to pick it up? Why do we spend so much time contemplating where to throw and how to reuse the trash instead of addressing the act of creating the trash in the first place?
And so we turn to sugary drinks, obesity and the proposed tax. What and who do we serve with a sugary soda tax? I profess that we only serve the government, who will collect the tax to run the government (I certainly don't want to turn this into a debate about taxation, so let's more simply assume that the consumer isn't getting the money directly). So can it be said that we've addressed the problem? Is it the production of the soda that's the problem? If you believe so, then ask yourself this simple question: Why do the producers of the soda continue to produce it? Easy. Because we buy it. They are in the business of selling soda and the more they sell, the more money they make (generally speaking, of course). So why do we fault the producer for doing nothing more than answering the call? If we didn't want the drink, they wouldn't make it! Plain and simple.
So the problem is us. We consume the beverage and they keep making it. We consume more, they make more. We want value, they make the bottle bigger...we drink more...they make more...and on and on. And when we drink gobs and gobs of soda, we get fat and sick (and run-up the costs of healthcare, which itself has additional economic and social implications). The soda tax is just another way for us to put the blame on someone else for what we do to ourselves. STOP DRINKING THE STUFF and we'll stop getting sick. The tax is only going to give the producers reason to blame the government for their own lack of accountability.
Let's take ownership of our own problems. Let's get educated and help others that have a tough time doing so. Let's take a look behind (or down at our tummies) as we walk (or run) and see what we've done. Is the view pretty? If not, let's do something about it...for ourselves, which in turn will be doing something for the rest of us as well.
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