Berkley, California is no longer part of this planet, because they have left the building. Approval Of Soda Tax In Berkeley Is Scary Precedent For Food Industry.
Again, using taxation to influence peoples behavior is just plain not right. I guess the lawmakers of their city council just can't stand people making choices the council does not want them to make. Either that, or they want the "sin tax" income. Personally, I think the city council should just make it against the law. No soda is better than some soda, right? Just outlaw it entirely.
On the other side, I think Pepsi, Coke and the other companies should stop selling their products to companies who have locations in Berkley. If they do business with chains (Wal-Mart, 7-Eleven, McDonald's, etc.) that have franchises in Berkley, Coke and Pepsi should stipulate in their contracts with these companies that their SSB (sugar-sweetened beverages) products not be sold within the city limits. Pepsi and Coke, et. al., should make it very clear to everyone involved, that the businesses will suffer as long as that tax is in place.
Businesses and residents will move out, causing the tax rolls to fall and the city to lose money. Because this is a bad precedent to be set. If the government gets away with this, where will it stop? After the Sixteenth Amendment (income tax) was passed, the first tax returns were only had to be filed by the wealthy, who also had generous deductions. Today, most of us pay up to half of our income in federal, state and local taxes. So, what starts as a one cent per ounce on SSBs ends up as another onerous tax on all food before you know it.