[MONDAY MINUTE] Are Sugar Sweetened Beverages Sinful? | Influence Consumer Behavior Through Taxation

Can you influence behavior through taxation? In fact, legislators generally have three goals in mind as they prepare tax laws: raise revenue, create fairness, and ability to influence behavior. Sin taxes, which are used to discourage the purchase and use of products that pose a risk to health, are as old as the original New England colonies. Today, we typically see these sin taxes placed on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages. But the World Health Organization, armed with new data…is calling on the United States to add sugary sweetened beverages to that sinful list. This sugar tax nonsense needs to stop. While the ability to raise revenue and simultaneously achieve some communal goal like improved public health might sound appealing, governments should not seek to discourage any activity, except for those that interfere with the rights of other individuals. FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LINKEDIN⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YOUTUBE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TWITTER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠INSTAGRAM⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FACEBOOK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠