Mississippi cans soda tax

Submitted by Michael on Sun, 02/21/2010 - 08:37

A proposal to raise taxes by two cents per ounce on sweetened bottled and canned soda won't make it out of committee.

State Rep. John Mayo of Clarksdale proposed the levy to raise funds to help defeat obesity in one of the nation's fattest states. But the House Ways and Means chairman said he doesn't intend to bring the bill up for vote, despite allowing a two-hour debate on the measure Wednesday. Gov. Haley Barbour, a former national Republican Party chairman, had maintained that he would veto such a tax if it reached his desk.

Battle lines were typical: A bottler talked about jobs, and business groups said the tax would unfairly target one indsutry in a state where fried chicken and other fatty foods are popular. A Washington-based advocate, meanwhile, testified that while the tax alone wouldn't solve the state's obesity problem, it might influence parents to seek out healthier beverage choices for their children.

It's obvious to ask: What's more important, marginal jobs losses or children's health?

Speaking at Commonwealth Club

I will be speaking on the topic of food addiction at the Commonwealth Club of California, the oldest public affairs forum in the country, on Feb. 28. I'll be joining a fabulous panel of researchers and clinicians: Nicole Avena of Princeton and the University of Florida, Eric Stice of the Oregon Research Institute, Vera Tarman of Renascent Center of Toronto, abd Elissa Epel and Andrea Garber, both of the University of California at San Francisco. I am very excited to be part of the roster, not to mention to be appearing at such a great institution. Ticket information here; if you come, please stay afterward to say hello.

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