Have you seen the advertisement with the comfortably middle class mother whining about taxing soft drinks? I’ve seen it in two languages –English and Spanish– and it’s annoying in both. In case you haven’t seen it, well here it is in English:

Let me begin by saying I don’t care if they tax soda or not. It won’t make any difference in my world, and I doubt a tax on soft drinks is going to cause anyone to starve to death. If you’re buying so much soda that as small tax on it means not being able to buy actual food, you are doing something wrong, like drinking too much soda.

There was an op-ed in the Boston Globe last month is support of a tax on soft drinks, and then there was a response in the form of a letter to the editor from Susan K. Neely, President and CEO American Beverage Association. As you can imagine, she’s opposed, but her reasoning (and the huge flaw in it) has to be pointed and laughed at.

A tax on juice drinks and soda would further squeeze middle-class families already struggling through a recession. The Congressional Research Service issued a report this summer showing that a beverage tax on sodas, juice drinks, teas, and flavored milk is highly regressive. Over 70 percent of the cost of this tax in its first year would be paid by those earning less than $91,297.

I would not be at all surprised to find that a tax on any sort of consumable would be paid more heavily by those earning under $90,000 a year. Why? Almost 85% of Americans live in households earning less than $90,000 a year. It’s sort of a no-brainer that if something almost everyone consumes is taxed, households earning less than $90,000 a year will pay the largest percentage of it. There are more of them.

I’d also like to note that in my experience, most people in the upper classes tend not to drink as much soda. They also don’t eat as much processed food. Why? They can afford better foodstuffs. When I was dirt poor, I was thankful to have Kool-Aid –the pinnacle of sugar-water beverages– and the occasional soda as a treat, and now that my financial situation is better, I drink nice teas, nice coffees, and fruit juices (as well as some Dr Pepper). If I were to wake up tomorrow to find myself living in an even better financial position, I have little doubt I would improve my beverage consumption habits even more … because I could afford to be selective.

Anyway, a tax could be tacked on to soft drink prices and no one would even notice. They aren’t talking about taxing it as heavily as they do booze or cigarettes, and until such time as a liter of Dr Pepper is selling for $5, I and everyone else grabbing it off the shelves will still be grabbing it … just like people who want mixed drinks or nicotine still buy those things, even though they are taxed through the roof. So tax the damn soft drinks (or not). I really don’t care, but don’t be silly with the arguments against it, OK?