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Increased taxes on sugary drinks in Seattle have not led to a decrease in consumption. The consumption appears to be growing faster than the population. https
by RandallBrown 7y ago
Increased taxes on sugary drinks in Seattle have not led to a decrease in consumption.
The consumption appears to be growing faster than the population.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/drink-less-soda-the-sugar-tax-is-seattles-fastest-growing-revenue-source-for-2019/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/drink-les...
- munificent 7y agoFrom the article: > But by definition and by its main purpose, this tax should erode over time. If the revenues don’t start dropping, at least relative to population growth, then it just isn’t working. This is an easy statistical mistake to make. He is comparing today's consumption to the past and declaring failure because the today isn't better. But the correct comparison to make is today versus the alternate today we would have now if the tax had not been passed. It may be that sugary drink consumption has gone up, but would have gone up even more had the tax not been passed. In that case, the tax is a success. Of course, figuring out how to estimate and measure an alternate timeline is hard. But that's what you have to try to do to make sound choices.