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Have a Coke and a Smile... and a Tax

Posted By Bobby Eberle On May 14, 2009 at 7:33 am

With massive bailouts, budgets that cost in the trillions, incredible levels of borrowing, and a laundry list of left-wing programs designed to inject more government control into our lives, it's only inevitable that the "revenue" side of the equation would have to take center stage. Tax the rich? Oh sure, that's where Obama and his socialist team will start. But it's only a start.

We are now seeing glimpses of what government control is all about: control over what you eat; control over what you drive; control over where you live; even control over what you say. Through the tax system, our fine left-wing government is looking at ways of not only raising revenue, but steering Americans toward behavior that the government deems appropriate. Remember the old slogan for Coca Cola? It was, "Have a Coke and a smile." Now, it's "Have a Coke and a smile... and a tax."

First of all, we have seen the government meddle in social engineering through the tax code for years. If you think about it, just the simple marriage deduction is social engineering. If you are married, you get a tax break. In addition, there have been additional "sin" taxes on items such as tobacco products for quite a while. The reasoning? Tobacco products are bad for you, so the government will tax them even higher so that people will stop using them.

So, a number of questions come to mind. Of course, there is the initial question of whether it is the government's role, in collecting revenue, to also inject itself into social engineering. I say no.

Then there is the entire control aspect. It is not the job of government to tell us what we can eat, what we can drive, or what we can say. But that is exactly the way the country is headed.

Say things that are a bit too strident or inflammatory, and you probably will end up in some Department of Homeland Security memo.

Drive the wrong kind of car, and you'll see those cars disappear through government legislation such as CAFE standards. Give me a break. Where is it written that the government can tell private industry which cars to make and not make? There is a reason that SUV and truck sales plummeted over the last several years. It's called public reaction to high gas prices. Gas prices go up, and people start looking for more fuel efficient vehicles to save money. That's just plain, old common sense. No government involvement is necessary.

Now, we move on to food and drink. As noted in a story on FOXNews.com, "Senate leaders are considering new federal taxes on soda and other sugary drinks to help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health-care system."

This action, if it were to pass, is wrong on several levels.

Number One... it's just yet another tax. The beverage manufacturers, if faced with an additional tax, would just pass it along to consumers. This means prices on soft drinks would go up for everyone. Whenever you talk about more taxes, instead of fewer taxes, then I'll start to tune out. The government is too big and too intrusive!

Number Two... it's more left-wing social engineering. As noted in the news story, "Proponents of the tax cite research showing that consuming sugar-sweetened drinks can lead to obesity, diabetes and other ailments. They say the tax would lower consumption, reduce health problems and save medical costs." Hello! We are talking about soft drinks. Yes, they are not as good for you as say... water. Since I workout and exercise and try to be healthy, I rarely drink anything but water. However, that is not the point. The point is... where does it stop?

Soft drinks can lead to obesity and health problems, they say. What about pizza? What about hamburgers? What about a whole host of foods and beverages that are "not that good for you?" The fact is that right now, all Americans have a choice. We can choose to eat well, or we can choose not to. But the more the government gets involved with these types of taxes, the more control they exercise over our lives.

What if the taxes become too high? Then we will see legitimate businesses driven out of business simply because the government decides which businesses are sanctioned and which are not? That is just plain scary to think about.

The government needs to focus on its core functions and leave the rest to the American people. The more taxes they take, the fewer choices we have. Money equals power, and if we continue to allow government to tax and tax and tax, then we will see our freedoms slip away.