A tax on sugary soft drinks, like the one proposed in Philadelphia and endorsed by Mrs. Clinton this week

I was really hoping it was Bernie against this so I could have something to disagree with him on.

It can be seen as achieving an admirable public health goal of less sugar consumption or as a very regressive tax that falls more on the poor than the rich, since the poor tend to drink more soda.

It's a pointless tax that is nothing more than a new way for the government to draw money out of people while justifying that it "for our own good". Government should not be involved in using taxes to manipulate people's personal decisions, unless that manipulation is directly related to some function the government is serving (charge more for healthcare, or have a higher healthcare tax on things that reduce health, assuming single payer is a thing).

If the government was concerned about using taxes to make people more healthy then they shouldn't have banned insurance companies from doing the same with their premiums.