During 2011-2014, over one-third of adults in America were considered obese (Ogden, et al. 1). Politicians and tax researchers have come up with a plan to reduce the prevalence of obesity, by implementing an excise tax on items that contain added sugars. On average, added sugars add almost two-hundred kilocalories to a person’s diet, and added sugars provide no nutritional value (Brownell, et al. 1599). They have also been linked to type two diabetes and obesity, which is a reason sugary drinks are targeted. There is a debate on how the United States should handle the rise in obesity. One group believes people will naturally stop drinking sodas over time because they will be educated about their effects. Another group believes in the excise
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Niederdeppe states “left-leaning local newspapers were much more likely than were right-leaning newspapers to publish news stories focused on the SSB tax debate. Left-leaning newspapers thus appear to view SSB taxes as a more newsworthy issue than do right-leaning newspapers”. He came to this conclusion by gathering information from over one-hundred local newspapers of states proposing higher tax rates for sugar, two national newspapers, and transcripts of five national television news outlets. Since left-leaning newspapers are more likely to publish articles about the tax, progressives seem to believe the issue is more important than conservatives. The study also found the group that is the most opposed to the tax is the industry group. According to the study, they focus on the negative effects of the tax on the economy instead of focusing on health. The two sides to this argument focus on different factors of the tax. Since the media plays a critical role in persuading decisions of the public, how they frame their side of the argument could change people’s perspective on the
Niederdeppe states “left-leaning local newspapers were much more likely than were right-leaning newspapers to publish news stories focused on the SSB tax debate. Left-leaning newspapers thus appear to view SSB taxes as a more newsworthy issue than do right-leaning newspapers”. He came to this conclusion by gathering information from over one-hundred local newspapers of states proposing higher tax rates for sugar, two national newspapers, and transcripts of five national television news outlets. Since left-leaning newspapers are more likely to publish articles about the tax, progressives seem to believe the issue is more important than conservatives. The study also found the group that is the most opposed to the tax is the industry group. According to the study, they focus on the negative effects of the tax on the economy instead of focusing on health. The two sides to this argument focus on different factors of the tax. Since the media plays a critical role in persuading decisions of the public, how they frame their side of the argument could change people’s perspective on the