WHAT A HEEL: Java Jive
Rep. Craig Frank (R-UT) is asking the state legislature to consider a tax on caffeine, in addition to its plans to raise the existing tax on tobacco, reports The Associated Press: “In a video post on his blog, the Republican legislator from Cedar Hills says the proposal is simply to prove a point that lawmakers shouldn't target certain segments of the population and tax their weaknesses.”
Leaving aside the fact that Frank would not be personally affected by the tax he is proposing as Mormons eschew coffee and other caffeinated beverages, he does have a point about using taxes as tools for social engineering. However, he’s chosen the wrong example (or “weakness,” as he puts it) to make his point. Cigarettes will debilitate and eventually kill you, but study after study shows drinking coffee reduces the risk of all sorts of maladies, including skin cancer (second item), stroke (third item), Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease (third item).
With NY Gov. David Patterson (D) proposing a tax on non-diet soda to help close a $14 billion state budget gap and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D-R-I?-R?) banning every gustatory pleasure known to humankind, Frank may have put a dangerous idea into their heads. The Stiletto doesn’t want to have to give up her harmless - and possibly healthful – six-cup-a-day coffee habit.
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