Would you like some tax with that soda?

If you're from the Chicago area, or anywhere in the Cook County area, you probably heard about the Sugar Soda Tax. If not, then I'll break it down for you. For the past 1-2 months, ruled in by Toni Preckwinkle, is a tax that is added onto most sugary drinks that people are most likely to buy.

Most meaning, any sweetened tea, sweetened coffee, sodas (pops), and juices that are not considered to be made with 100% fruit. Juices that aren't sweetened, but made with 100% fruit juice, and teas and coffees that aren't sweetened, are supposedly excluded from the tax. Also supposedly excluded from the tax were the sweeteners like 'Kool-aid' or 'Crystal Light,' that you add to water yourself and some sparkling waters that are flavored, but not 'sweetened'.

The amount of tax is dependent on the ounces in your drink. So take for instance your 12 pack of coca-cola, it will have the added tax of $1.44 to the sales price plus the sales tax. The vending machines at my college have also included the tax, 32 ounces of Pepsi that used to cost $1, now costs $1.50.

But I drink water, how else could that affect me?

From the point of view of the majority of people, this meant that they won't cut back on buying sugary drinks or buy them with the added tax. They will find alternative ways to keep buying these drinks. They will go the extra length to buy in a country that doesn't have the tax and take as many as they can carry.

For those who might not buy, but work in a restaurant, or store that is inside Chicago or Cook County, you might have seen less people walking into your doors or just asking for water at restaurants, which in turn could lead to those employees working several hours a week, to only a couple hours a week.

While, the store that is outside of Chicago and Cook County, is constantly refilling its shelves with soda because some people are specifically only coming for the soda, and they fill up their shopping carts to the top.

How would I know this?

I'm the one who's being asked these questions if we have more of _____ in the back by customers or confirming that we are outside of Cook County.

The only people that might not even be touched by the tax in any way is if you truly drink only water, and 100% juice, and don't work or know anyone who works in a business where the tax is present.

Someone has to found the positive message behind this, right?

The Illinois Retail Merchants Association tried filing a lawsuit for it to stop it, but the tax still went through.

Who supports it?

The American Heart Association who outlined the cons of drinking sugary drinks, and how the tax will in turn hopefully move others to drink healthier options. Although, it's true that beverages filled with sugar have a large amount of sugar that is more than the intake people should get, and it poses risk for obesity, affect cardiovascular health, and so on. Yet, as much as we want to admit the truth on these health risks; you can't change all people.

The Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also supporting the tax, with a "$2 million commercial campaign against soda." (WTTW News)

At first, I thought this commercial was simply trying to outline that soda is unhealthy. Drinking a soda (a lot of it) puts you at risk for health problems like the video said, "kidney failures, Type 2 Diabetes, tooth decay, obesity, etc." If this commercial is outlining the health problems with soda, that means it will try to advise children (in this case of the commercial) and other people to other health options, right? At least that's what I expected.

Yet, that is not what the commercial actually suggests. The commercial says that the soda tax can "reduce childhood obesity, and diabetes, with the money to support Cook County hospitals, and health programs, and that's going to help keep our kids a lot healthier."

In other words, this commercial never says 'kids should limit the amount of sodas they drink,' and it doesn't mention that 'kids should turn to drinking more water or 100% fruit juices' because if they took that approach to creating this commercial then sales of sugary drinks would decrease, and that means no one's really paying that sugary tax.

This commercial is presenting the message that, the Coke or Pepsi you're buying in Cook County with the sugary tax will be healthier for you than the one bought outside of Cook County. It's the same sugary beverage, but with an added sugar tax, somehow it's proven to be healthier.

"The soda tax means healthier kids."

It sounds ridiculous.

The Cook County tax is facing a 'repeal vote,' at the Cook County Board Meeting on September 12th, so we'll see how long this tax actually lasts.