Is a "Fat Tax" coming?

djdelano

The government needs to create some jobs to help people get back on their feet. Once they get that done and get the economy out of the toilet, maybe, just maybe they can spend a little time making fat people feel worse about themselves than they already do.

Hi,

I'm in 50% agreement. The government does not create jobs, that is a well contrived myth. The private sector creates jobs. However you are absolutely right that it's the government's responsibility to let the economy fix itself, predominantly by empowering the private sector, dealing with generational bankruptcy and reducing it's foot print exponentially.

http://www.cenedella.com/job-search/the-government-does-not-create-jobs-humans-do/

-D

pattycakes726

The major problem with a "fat tax" besides being totally ridiculous, is how are they going to measure who's fat?
If it's BMI, get ready for a bunch of lawsuits. Every bodybuilder and athlete's like Adrian Peterson are obese according to BMI.

Instead of taxing us they should find a way to make healthy food cheaper and quit subsidizing the corn industry so companies quit using corn sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in everything because of how cheap it is.

Can you site the proposed law you're talking about? Without specifics we're all shadow boxing here.

calliope_music

How about giving people tax breaks for say, approved diet plans, APPROVED trainers, dieticians, gym memberships, etc. Meaning being able to write off some or all of these costs. Promote healthy living and stop taxing people!!!

This i would imagine would lower overall health costs for the country as well.

this would be awesome. the company i currently work for gives me a free gym membership to area gyms, pretty good health insurance coverage, and my health insurance premium does down the more often i participate in healthy lifestyle programs. i'm all for that. i'm saving something like $200 per month on health insurance because of this.

vinylscratch

I've noticed nobody has touched on poverty. Poverty is a huge contributor to obesity; pancakes, which are nothing but white flour and sugar, were a staple of the urban poor when I was growing up.

It's easy for someone who has never experienced food insecurity to just say "get whole-wheat pancake flour!" It's pricier, it's rarely found at discount food stores, and often can't be repurposed as easily.

Food insecurity means individuals in poverty will do anything to stretch their dollar and get SOMETHING in their bellies. When you are starving you don't care what that is. When people hate on "welfare cases" for being obese, they usually say "If they don't have any money, why are they so fat?" So ignorant.. they're fat because they don't have the means to make healthy choices. I'm not talking about the people on food assistance you see with huge carts at the beginning of the month -- although if you notice they will often stock up on ground beef, bulk cheese, and other fatty but substantial items that can be frozen and repurposed to stretch their dollar.

I'm talking about the people who have been pretty much forgotten. They're obese because of a number of factors: They're eating crap because they can only afford to feed themselves and their children on crap. They're out of work and consequently sedentary, whether through disability or the collapse of a business they worked in a specific field for 10-15 years and can't afford to go back to school to learn something new. They're depressed because they're stuck in the cycle of poverty. They often live in unsafe areas and don't have the means or will to exercise. These are the people who rely on Medicare and Medicaid and for good reason.

Think about how -lucky- we all are that we get to worry about a first-world problem like weight loss.

While there are people who deliberately choose bad options when they have an alternative, there's also a lost world of people who have fallen into the poverty vortex.

Instead of heavier taxes, let's subsidize farms that produce REAL food, like a previous poster said, and un-subsidize the corn industry. Real, fresh produce made affordable for everyone.

This country makes me cry.

MercenaryNoetic26

Yeah, good point!
Lets blame the FDA and the USDA for FAILING us as a nation. They sell out to the highest bidder and serve us *kitten* on a plate with their seal of approval.

castadiva

I think the fat tax is coming from an increased burden to society via the health problems associated to being overweight.

BMI is just some easy excuse to justify it. In reality, everyone would have to submit their blood/urine work for evaluation.

Oh-ho! And then watch the civil liberties/invasion of privacy/failure to protect confidential data come flooding in?!

kimberly0416

They should lower the price of healthy food, vegetables and fruits. Americans are fat because filler foods are cheap, potatoes and rice.

And it won’t stick anyways since the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 since obesity could be considered hereditary. Even though it deals mostly with EEO, it can be reasoned with this as well.

TundraTed

I think everyone should eat healthy. I do not think the government has the right to "punish" those who choose not to. It is a personal decision the government has no business being a part of.

catshark209

I'm lower income and live in a "bad" area and I have no problem eating healthy and having my son eat healthy. Poverty isn't an excuse. I also work out 6 days a week with my own bodyweight, a sandbag and a dip station (Bodyrock.tv is awesome). While I agree the bad foods are more accessible, there are ways those of us in the ghetto can eat healthy.

aWashCloth

Taxing is stupid..

Education is key.

If people don't want to be healthy,
let the problem heart attack itself.

iplayoutside19

That "Ubiquitous They" is always up to something.

I understand the economics of obesity. However, if you're inviting any government entity to control what you eat, even a little bit. You're asking for bad stuff to happen. I'm all for education and ecouraging certain market forces to occur. But anything where an entity tracks what I weigh and what I eat? No way.

bmjohnso9192

They should lower the price of healthy food, vegetables and fruits. Americans are fat because filler foods are cheap, potatoes and rice.

And it won’t stick anyways since the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 since obesity could be considered hereditary. Even though it deals mostly with EEO, it can be reasoned with this as well.

but who will grow those healthy foods when they don't make anything on them? Until we can teach our country how to live Healthy, it won't pay for farmers to grow these cheap healthy foods. BUT, If we educate our country from the start, to make better choices, Demand will increase, prices will go down. Basic SUPPLY AND DEMAND!

I am a teacher, and the problem in schools is this....
1) Nasty, Unhealthy food choices. Sure, they throw vegetables and fruit on the line, but they also serve chicken patties and burgers that have 20 or more fillers you can't pronounce in them. Cheese pizza is considered to have all of the requirements for a meal--I serv. of Veggie, 1 serv. of protein,( --->WHAAAA!?! )
2) P.E. is being cut in schools nationwide! Our school does not have money...lets cut P.E. , art, and music

So, schools need more money to buy healthier food (or the cost must go down....), and more money to provide educators. Lets face it, it's a ridiculous vicious circle. Until we decide that educating our youth should be our biggest priority, this country is screwed, on EVERY aspect.

cydonian

Instead of taxing us they should find a way to make healthy food cheaper and quit subsidizing the corn industry so companies quit using corn sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in everything because of how cheap it is.

You just hit the nail on the head right there with what needs to be done the US. I never realized how much junk is in our food until I went over to England where the corn industry isn't rubbing elbows with the FDA.

cydonian

They should lower the price of healthy food, vegetables and fruits. Americans are fat because filler foods are cheap, potatoes and rice.

American are fat because they put HFCS and sugar in EVERYTHING now and food is a convenience over here... you can get it anytime, anywhere. Healthy grocery stores are making a push but the cost is so high that lower income people still have to shop in the 'cheap, unhealthy' section. Have you ever checked what's available on WIC and food stamps? Crap, that's what.

lorals05

How about giving people tax breaks for say, approved diet plans, APPROVED trainers, dieticians, gym memberships, etc. Meaning being able to write off some or all of these costs. Promote healthy living and stop taxing people!!!

This i would imagine would lower overall health costs for the country as well.

^^^ There you go! I could get behind that.

That would be a great idea to get more middle and low income families up and moving. I have a good job and make a decent wage but cannot afford a gym membership let alone afford a trainer. That kind of incentive would do really well around my community.

inlander

I don't understand how our government could make a fat tax when they've essentially been helping people become obese through various subsidies and policy decisions. Perhaps there should be a higher tax on less desirable food, like McDonalds.

(Oh, but then big business would complain and gosh, we just can't have THAT.) Yeah, that was sarcasm. The problem is not with government involvement in the lives of individuals, the problem is that the government has been making decisions that promote big business and fast food industries and the promotion of HFCS and has allowed manufacturers like ConAgra/Tyson to require the mass production of animals that have been injected with hormones, just to maximize the manufacturer's earnings. Thus, cheap meat and other products sold for a cheaper price but without a lot of quality. How about we rewrite legislation and push for public policy that promotes good health rather than punishing those who are victims of the government's bad, pro-business decisionmaking?

/off soapbox

inlander

Taxing is stupid..

Education is key.

If people don't want to be healthy,
let the problem heart attack itself.

Only problem with that is a lot of people don't choose to be unhealthy - it's a lot more economical for a family of 8 to go to McDonalds and order off the value menu rather than make a home-made meal with meat. I promise you. So for those people that are working class or severely poor, they really don't have a choice most of the time. I used to see it every day in the restaurant industry. It's just what happens when you offer prepared, easy food for cheaper than unprepared store-bought food. If you give people the opportunity to afford fresh produce and food from a store rather than the dollar menu, THEN it's okay to judge them for poor choices.

vxmittyxv

This is definitely a tricky subject. And yes, if I were not on this weight loss kick and was still at my top weight I would probably be POed. However, the reality is that obesity is a real issue affecting real people. If the government can tax my cigarette because they are unhealthy why shouldn't they impose a tax on my McDonalds. I know alot of people that made the decision to quick smoking because of the cost. How many of us would stop eating fast food of the cost doubled.

And as far as the arguement that their are people to don't eat that stuff by choice but by necessity because it is all they can afford. I can gaurantee those people are on government assistance. Not to mention that 9 time out of time when the person in front of me at the grocery store is using an Independence Card not only are they buying tons of name brands product which are way more expensive but they are spending 5x my budget.

The governement will never be able to enforce a tax based on weight or BMI. However, I am all for additional tax on fast food and higher health care premium for the obese.

Iluvchopsticks

I think people should be able to eat what they want and be whatever size that they want. It's a personal decision in my opinion, not a government issue. I can understand having to pay more for healthcare if you have unhealthy habits like smoking or are overweight, but otherwise I don't really think it's the governments business. Although I should say that I fully support healthier options in schools because children are too young to be able to understand the consequences of eating poorly.

The problem is that it is becoming a government issue. The military is having a hard time recruiting because many of the current recruits are over weight and don't meet the weight standards. That is a national security issue and IS something the government is worried about. Also, We spend BILLIONS of dollars on weight related health issues for people who can't pay and it increases our insurance premiums. Which means we all pay for everyone else's weight issues.

The military has not had any issues meeting its recruiting quotas over the past few years. Actually, branches have been meeting them faster because of economic problems and downsizing. I'm not sure where you got that information.

bhalter

Have you ever checked what's available on WIC and food stamps? Crap, that's what.

Do they not mark WIC items in stores or regulate what you can purchase with WIC vouchers elsewhere? Our city's WIC income limit is actually pretty high, so a lot of first-time parents are elegible for it. All of the grocery stores in town have WIC approved items marked, and the WIC vouchers are pretty specific. It's all low-fat milk, whole grain and wheat breads and tortillas, healthier non-sugared cereals, reduced fat cheeses, plain oatmeal, vegetables and fruit, etc.

bhalter

wait, who's talking about taxing "fat" people?
and where is this at?

I don't know necessarily if the government is in serious talks about it, but I know insurance companies are. Our health insurance at my new company JUST rolled out the different smoker/non-smoker insurance plans and there was an uproar. Personally, I'm not a smoker so it doesn't affect me and we also had it that way at my first out-of-college job, so I thought that was the norm. They also give benefits, and cash inventives for exercising, healthy eating, etc. My entire company wears a pedometer that we upload to a computer software. We join fitness challenges, earn points based on daily steps and fitness goals, and get bonus checks at the end of every year based on our level of "points."

neanderthin

This seems relevant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU_Ezs3gXB0

(Being fat is now illegal in Japan)

I believe thet're taxing waist size based on gender. In that respect, I would say it's a better guide than BMI.

vinylscratch

I'm lower income and live in a "bad" area and I have no problem eating healthy and having my son eat healthy. Poverty isn't an excuse. I also work out 6 days a week with my own bodyweight, a sandbag and a dip station (Bodyrock.tv is awesome). While I agree the bad foods are more accessible, there are ways those of us in the ghetto can eat healthy.

I definitely hear you, but given that you even have internet access to post this, you're probably not one of the individuals I'm talking about. I mean legitimate food insecurity. One meal a day if you're lucky food insecurity.

hummingbird71

Life insurance premiums are higher for smokers, why shouldn't health insurance premiums be higher for people with unhealthy habits? Why should the rest of us pay for something if the individual doesn't care enough to try?

Actually my health insurance IS HIGHER if you don't meet the criteria of having a certain Blood pressure and "in the okay range" for your cholesterol- they look at the over all and then break it down into the "good" and "bad" cholesteral and look at our glucose. Now you get "discounts" on the insurance if you are "in range" in these areas. So actually looks to me like rates are already higher for those that have been eating unhealthy for yrs and don't care what there blood work is... just glad mine is all good. Now to work on that "weight" issue I have!

mcrmsi77

How about giving people tax breaks for say, approved diet plans, APPROVED trainers, dieticians, gym memberships, etc. Meaning being able to write off some or all of these costs. Promote healthy living and stop taxing people!!!

This i would imagine would lower overall health costs for the country as well.

I totally agree!!!!!!

Troll

Instead of taxing us they should find a way to make healthy food cheaper and quit subsidizing the corn industry so companies quit using corn sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in everything because of how cheap it is.

I'd like to hug you for that.

Russellb97

Instead of taxing us they should find a way to make healthy food cheaper and quit subsidizing the corn industry so companies quit using corn sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in everything because of how cheap it is.

I'd like to hug you for that.

Awesome, I could use a hug today!

wildcata77

OP...I like your thinking. And I hope not.

As a Libertarian, I'm generally against the government enforcing it's own standards on everyone, esp. as seeing how government standards usually measure up.