Physicians used to be considered pretty conservative in their political views. They were considered very learned and commanded respect from their patients and communities; the definition of pillars of society. You probably didn't see too many physicians rolling around naked in the mud at Woodstock. Nor did you see them burning their draft cards/bras or march in antinuke rallies.
But times have changed. Medical societies, which are of course composed of physicians, seem to be veering more and more toward leftist ideology. The causes they espouse come right out of the Democratic party playbook.
The latest example is the American Academy of Pediatrics endorsement for a soda tax. They believe that taxing sugary drinks will lower heart disease and diabetes. They naively believe that the extra money from the tax should go towards subsidizing government programs to encourage people to eat healthier foods.
This is despite evidence that these soda tax policies don't work. When it was instituted in Philadelphia, the results showed that most people just bought their soda outside the city limits to avoid the tax. The tax hurt the business owners, many of whom were small businesses and minorities, who lost customers when they decided to buy their soda elsewhere, along with their other grocery needs. Another unforeseen consequence of the soda tax was that alcohol sales went up. If you have to pay extra for your soda, why not just step up to something else?
This soda tax endorsement is just one more piece of evidence that medicine has become a leftist organization. Along with medicine's endorsement of Obamacare and climate change, it's clear that this is no longer your father's or mother's medical practice.
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