Michael Bloomberg comes to Alabama … at least his soda tax idea does

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Alabama Today is hearing chatter throughout the Statehouse about the introduction of a 10-cent soda tax during the impending Special Session for the budget as a way to raise revenue.

Limiting and taxing soda as a way of combating obesity, which is linked to sky-high health care costs isn’t new.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg supported an effort in 2012 that led to a cap on soda size within the New York City limits. The cap was thrown out by the New York Court of Appeals in June 2014.

That court ruling however didn’t stop Bloomberg’s efforts to attack soda. According to The Washington Post, Bloomberg went on to be the largest funder of an initiative to increase the tax for sodas in Berkley, Calif. The city with Bloomberg’s help was the first in the nation to pass a one-cent tax for every ounce sold as both a revenue-generating measure and an effort to decrease the sugar consumption associated with soda and such drinks.

The federal government has also seen recommendations of increasing the tax to make sodas and sugary drinks less attractive.

Are there any Bloomberg conservatives here in Alabama? We shall soon see.

Check back for more on this developing story.