Sugary Drinks Essay

778 Words2 Pages

Taxation on Our Lives
Taxing sugary drinks has been a controversial national topic for a while now, most people can agree that the arguments regarding this topic started when New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg attempted to ban all outsized sugary drinks from restaurants and other eateries. This sparked great controversy and upset many people regarding Bloomberg and how he used his "power" as New York City's mayor to impose such a ban. Although Bloomberg's ban was not as successful as he wanted it to be, many states and people agreed with what he was trying to impose and started taking matters into their own hands. Cities and states started to slowly ease in their attempt to put a ban on sugary drinks and have people apart of their region follow their attempts. Like Bloomberg, these states are all correct; putting a tax on sugary drinks is a positive initiative that the United States government should work harder to impose.
Like many people who are all for taxing sugary drinks, there are also many whom are against putting a tax on all sugary drinks. For example, the American Beverage Association, who is against taxation of sugary drinks, argues that the government should let us make our own decisions and let us decide on whether or not we want to imbibe a sixty-four ounce Pepsi from the gas station or a glass of water from our very own home. Limiting people from being able to satisfy their thirst is like taking away their first amendment: Freedom of religion, freedom of the press, but most importantly freedom of speech. In the article "It's Your Choice", from the American Beverage Association themselves, they state that "anything that any politician dislikes or has an issue with will become a new target for a tax or ban" (ABA...

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...erg sparked up the controversy or whether the American Beverage Association despises the fact that taxing sugary drinks can happen in the near future, one thing is for sure. Taxing sugary drinks is the best alternative to the lifestyles that Americans are living in today's society. The benefits that not only the government, but us the people will get from this tax are too good to give up. The money that will be saved by the government can be used for things that actually need help, the number of people that will live healthier lifestyles is grand, and the amount of low income families that will be helped is significant. So whether you believe that taxing sugary drinks is a good or a bad idea, one thing that we can all agree on is that sugary drinks are bad for you and the only way that people can get rid of it in their lives is by self control or an implemented tax.

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