San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom says that the City by the Bay needs to raise more taxes to save people from themselves and has proposed raising taxes on all beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup. Citing a city health department survey, Newsom said that nearly 25% of San Francisco's 5th, 7th and 9th grade students were over weight and therefore like any good Democrat the solution is simple---raise taxes.Researchers at Oxford University claim that by charging a "Value Added Tax" of 17.5% on foods that have been determined to be unhealthy, that it would cut consumer demand (they fail to mention hurt business and job losses) and reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes (there are not that many adolescents having heart attacks and strokes) a well designed and carefully targeted fat-tax could be a useful tool for reducing the burden of food related diseases the study concluded.
This comes as the State of California is considering requiring warning labels on caffeine infused sodas and energy drinks, saying that consumption may contribute to diabetes.
