Florez's state soda pop tax
The Bakersfield Californian | Saturday, Mar 06 2010 09:34 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Mar 06 2010 09:34 PM

Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has taken some heat from his more conservative constituents for recent legislation that seems extravagant in the face of more pressing issues, like California's ongoing budgetary chaos.

But his efforts to fund anti-childhood obesity programs with a soda pop tax hits the problem where it matters.

The tax would total a penny per teaspoon of added sugar in commercial beverages, which is projected to raise about $1.5 billion annually. The money would go to California cities and schools to pay for obesity-prevention initiatives targeting children.

Florez's bill is one of many encouraging signs around the country that leaders and citizens alike are starting to take seriously growing concerns about obesity, particularly among children. The nation spends about $150 billion each year treating obesity-related diseases, which are mostly preventable, so the attention is welcome and appropriate.

Obesity among U.S. children ages 6 to 11 has more than doubled from 6.5 percent to 17 percent over the last three decades. In the same span, among 12- to 19-year-olds, obesity has jumped from 5 percent to just under 18 percent. Given all that, should we be surprised type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure have skyrocketed among under 20s? Hardly.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have expressed concern about these issues, but they haven't been willing to confront the powerful bottling industry, which opposes a national soda tax.

Florez's bill would carry that flag forward in California, which has served as a test track for many innovative programs and undertakings. If we're ever going to conquer childhood obesity and the related health issues that have proved so costly, that's the sort of engineering we need to consider.

http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/editorials/x1543187735/Florezs-state-soda-pop-tax