I think it would be a great idea to tax soft drinks. Not only could the money be used to help pay for some of those who are uninsured, but it could wean kids away from soft drinks. I've never understood our nation's addiction to soft drinks.I have never had them in my house and neither my children or grandchildren have any interest in drinking them.
When you look at the statistics about what obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are costing this country, it is frightening. In a September 9/09/09 article by Michael Pollan in the New York Times, he lists the following amounts of money that chronic illnesses cost: $147 billion is spent on treating obesity, $116 billion to treat diabetes and "hundreds of billions more to treat cardiovascular disease."
Soft drinks should definitely be removed from schools. We did not have them when I was growing up and I was fortunate not to have any cavities until I went to college and the food was not great. I imagine dentists who have real concerns about their patients would also support a tax on soft drinks. Money can be spent instead on real food, not big bottles of soft drinks high in sugar and calories.
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