"This study that we did with UCLA showed that regardless of income or ethnicity, adults who drink one or more soda a day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight or obese,"

That’s Dr. Harold Goldstein, from California’s Center for Public Health Advocacy, speaking with NPR’s Kelley Weiss. Right off the bat, the statistic seems pretty startling. But it’s designed to be startling. Goldstein is advocating for a soda tax to help pay for the nation’s healthcare overhaul.

Dan Savage had a bit to say about this awhile back. He supported the tax. Me? I’m not so sure.

A quick search for “soda tax” reveals that this idea has been around for quite awhile. But recently, proponents of using a soda tax to reclaim costs of major healthcare reform have grown even more vocal. The idea follows the same logic of other “sin taxes”: People are enjoying a product that is unhealthy for them. Their poor health is driving up medical costs. Therefore we should tax what they’re enjoying so they’ll enjoy it less and by default, become healthier. Meanwhile, the tax revenue will pay for the increased healthcare cost we already have. The sin here, I guess, is gluttony.

Smokers, you know the drill: Quit smoking, or take it with a nicotine smile.

Let’s get back to that “27 percent” statistic. Yeah, you drink soda and you’re more likely to be obese. But you know what? If you eat Doritos, you’re more likely to be obese. If you eat fried pies, you’re more likely to be obese. If you don’t get up and move your ass every once in awhile, you’re more likely to be obese. If you are poor, you’re more likely to be obese. If your job is going out to eat three to four times a week so you can publish your opinion in the food section of an alt-weekly, you’re more likely to be obese. There are, of course, exceptions.

Hey, you know what really makes people fat? Bacon! That shit is like a fat injection right into your fat ass. But we’re not going to tax bacon, are we?

Am I wrong to feel that a tax on soda seems both desperate and misguided? Am I?

Proponents suggest that the projected revenue from a small soda tax could bring in $150 billion dollars in revenue in a scant 10 years. And although it’s essentially conceding that less soda would be consumed, detractors say that a soda tax will lead to a $22 billion dollar loss in economic output.

When it comes down to it, it might be that my opinion is linked to directly to my own self-preservation. There is no way I’m coming to work if there’s a tax levied on soda. Fact is, the day that Erik Henriksen can’t afford to pay for his Dungeons and Dragons themed Jones Soda to chase down his daily smoothie made of Kit Kat bars and Where the Wild Things Are Berry Wild Slurpee™… Well… On that day the walls will run red with the blood of anyone who gets caught in the path of his blind rage.

But what’s your opinion, Blogtownies? Do tell.