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Welcome to Berkeley, Calif: Ground Zero for the Soda Wars

Welcome to Berkeley, Calif: Ground Zero for the Soda Wars
Mon, 10/27/2014
This article originally appeared on robertreich.org

I got a call the other day from a stooge of Big Soda who was doing a “push poll” — trying to get me and all my neighbors to vote against Berkeley’s proposed one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary soft drinks.

Big Soda is pulling out all the stops — and the money — to prevent the tax, because Big Soda knows that if it fails in Berkeley it can’t pass anywhere.

Yet, just like tobacco, we know a small tax reduces consumption. And just like tobacco, consumption of sugary soft drinks is a huge health problem.

One out of three American kids is obese and at risk of early-onset diabetes. A major culprit is Big Soda.

Isn’t it time the people stood up against corporate moneyed interests that are determined to prevent us from protecting ourselves and our kids?

Originally published by RobertReich.org

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Posted 1 month 3 weeks ago

Ideological rigidity is not only keeping us from making inroads with mainstream society and growing our numbers—but effectively preventing us from accomplishing any actual policy goals.

Posted 2 weeks 2 days ago

Journalists have a responsibility to plainly tell the truth about how truly different the Democrats and the Republicans are today, especially with both democracy and the rule of law at stake this November.

Posted 1 month 2 weeks ago

If any of us hope to stop Donald Trump from becoming the 47th president of the United States, it will have to be done from the ballot box, not the courts.

Posted 4 weeks 18 hours ago

From Hungary and Poland to Italy and Spain, today's anti-abortionist movements are feeding one another—while also driving a growing counter-movement.

Posted 1 month 2 weeks ago

Ideological rigidity is not only keeping us from making inroads with mainstream society and growing our numbers—but effectively preventing us from accomplishing any actual policy goals.