So Get Ready For the Twinkie Tax:
Apparently unsatiated by their huge claims on booze and cigarettes, the tax police are planning a major snack attack. Potato chips, cookies, sodas, candy--a $30 billion-a-year business--are being targeted by more than a dozen revenue-starved states under the misguided impression that by charging a few extra cents per can or bag they can trim their budget deficits and encourage the rest of us to slim down. Fat chance.This looks like a growth industry. Pick some product whose consumption is "socially irresponsible" and slap a tax on it. The taxpayers don't like taxes, but they don't like sin either. Twinkies are tough (figuratively) since they are classified as food products which are often exempt from state sales taxes, but a little legislative legerdemain ought to fix that. I'm still waiting for the tax on beans to fight global warming. You think I'm joking? How easily you forget!
