Arbitrary and capricious

"Soda is clearly one of the most harmful products in the food supply, and it's something government should discourage the consumption of," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. So, the brilliant social engineers in Washington are considering taxing soda pop, energy drinks, and certain fruit drinks to raise money to pay for the $1.2 trillion health care reform efforts. Diet soda pop will not be taxed (although the stuff in diet soda pop is probably even worse for humans than the corn syrup--sugar--in regular pop). The tax is estimated to raise $24 billion in 4 four years; covering less than one percent per year of the new program. [click here to read the article]

To be fair, does this mean they will tax orange juice -- an 8 oz serving of OJ has the same number of calories as 8 oz of soda pop (I know it is a different type of sugar, but the point is the same--high calorie)? What about apple juice? And the sugary cereals? What about anything that lists its first ingredient as sugar? And what about the promise not to raise taxes on those who make less than $250,000? In the end, a tax code that is arbitrary and capricious is inequitable and inefficient.