It is imperative that a fat tax is not imposed by the United States Congress on junk food. By and large, a fat tax would be ineffective as far as altering consumers’ diets and would punish those who eat junk food sparingly. On top of that, junk food manufacturers would be negatively affected, which could begin a ripple of negative effects. Data from areas where a fat tax is currently levied or once was shows that obesity rates did not improve as a consequence of the fat tax. Even though a 7.25% sales tax on soda collects $218 million in revenue for California every year, the tax does nothing as far as improving the diets of consumers living there. If a government policy is to be created to solve this social problem it should be effective. A fat tax simply is not.