A soda tax to fund health care? Think again.

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2009 | by Dick Armey

As Congress and the president look to expand government's role in health care, taxpayers are left singing the old Waylon Jennings line, "Your thirst for riches is more than my pockets can stand." But with the Obama administration's health care plan predicted to cost $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, middle-class taxpayers are about to find their pockets emptied even more. To pay for this, the Senate Finance Committee is considering a throng of new taxes, including higher levies on beer and wine, plus a new tax on non-diet soda.

In February, President Obama made a simple pledge before Congress, "If your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime." But things must have...