It Figures: Stimulus Money Used to Fund Research on How to Raise Taxes

The government never works harder than when they're trying to separate you from your money. This certainly is a creative way of doing it.

There's more proof that the administration is high on soda taxes as a way to curb obesity and fund healthcare reform. Two pro-free-market groups have discovered a $1 million stimulus grant to the University of Illinois to fund a study of the relationship between fat taxes and food consumption, diet quality, and obesity. Of concern is that the study results might be preordained.

Which, of course, will be an effort to tax certain foods and beverages at higher rates in order to slake their unquenchable thirst for more revenue. David Paterson floated this in New York not so long ago and met was with fierce resistance, so you can expect the same nationwide. But that never stopped this merry band of thieves in Washington.

The makers of the target products—sodas, juices, and sports drinks—have been warning that the administration wants to raise the tax on their products. They also say that higher soda taxes in some states have not led to a drop in obesity, calling into question the societal benefit of such taxes.

The Illinois Policy Institute concluded that "taxpayers are in essence funding a study that will likely call for even higher taxes on the products we consume every day. This isn't change we can believe in." And the Club for Growth's Andy Roth tells Whispers, "The stimulus-financed study about fat taxes proves that the fat cats in Washington show no restraint when it comes to spending our hard-earned tax dollars. Is there any project that would fail to meet Congress's unbelievably low standards? I doubt it."

Thanks to Katherine for passing this along. She says "So the government is taking our money and using it to study new ways to take even more of our money. It just never ends."

Indeed, it never does.