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Should junk food be taxed?
vegmebuff
Posts: 31,389 Member
What are your thoughts?
1
Replies
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Define junk.30
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no. we pay too much in taxes already and it won't dissuade people from eating it. Look what they pay for cigarettes.64
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caroldavison332 wrote: »no. we pay too much in taxes already and it won't dissuade people from eating it. Look what they pay for cigarettes.
They're damn near $30 a pack in Australia and people still smoke.17 -
One person's junk is another man's treasure.35
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Seriously no! Personal responsibility is paramount. Junk food is the bomb!28
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caroldavison332 wrote: »no. we pay too much in taxes already and it won't dissuade people from eating it. Look what they pay for cigarettes.
Every time they raise the tax on cigarettes, teen smoking goes down. You make a good argument.15 -
Hasn't the government taken away enough of our money and Liberty already???
Besides, why should I trust the same institution responsible for the bridge to nowhere to decide what I should and shouldn't eat?
We gonna have federally employed nutritionists to decide our calorie and macro allotments and decide who should eat what so they can tax us based on individual health needs?
Of all the ill conceived ideas...42 -
Has taxing things ever helped?20
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NO7
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No. Not only for the reasons mentioned, but because the government has no business dictating nutrition (tho that doesn't seem to stop them). Most of what we think we know about nutrition is based on observational studies and food frequency questionnaires. IOW, junk science.
There's an idea - let's start taxing junk science!!24 -
Sure. If we can all agree on what junk food is.
What about ingredients that are healthy but can be used to make "junk" food?16 -
NorthCascades wrote: »caroldavison332 wrote: »no. we pay too much in taxes already and it won't dissuade people from eating it. Look what they pay for cigarettes.
Every time they raise the tax on cigarettes, teen smoking goes down. You make a good argument.
Does it? Seems to me I see more teenagers smoking and less adults, mainly because teens aren't paying bills with their money.11 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »caroldavison332 wrote: »no. we pay too much in taxes already and it won't dissuade people from eating it. Look what they pay for cigarettes.
They're damn near $30 a pack in Australia and people still smoke.
About 16-17% smoke in the states compared to about 13% in Australia.5 -
That would be a regressive tax. Poorer people would be impacted. People with more money would just go ahead and eat what they wanted anyway.
If the government (actually busybodies who want to control the behavior of others so lobby for their views to be legislated) is that concerned, they should subsidize more nutritious food to make it cheaper rather than making "junk" food more expensive. Positive reinforcement for behavior change rather than negative reinforcement. However, subsidies don't fill government coffers.
Shoot, they could go the whole nine yards and have government cafeterias everywhere with free (or nearly free) nutritious meals available 24/7. That would give everyone the opportunity to choose a healthy meal that better meets the government's idea of how people should eat.47 -
No...
I'd be all for more education though.10 -
Idk if this would just make "food deserts" worse, making junk food inaccessible too or if it would actually incentive stores to carry healthier options. Economists chime in pls.6
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I don't advocate any new taxes, and feel the government is way too involved in things they don't need to control. I suppose if it did happen, my question would be...What would the money from the tax be used for?5
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I very seldom buy bagged chips or pretzels or anything like that but the other day I wanted some bagged popcorn and I went down the snack aisle for the first time in months...probably in a year. What the actual? WHEN did a bag of popped corn become $4? Or potato chips? $4.50!! What???? I was thinking $1.99, max.
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I guess that doesn't answer.
heh. Sure, tax 'em! I"m not buying them anyway. Grrr.5 -
No.......today's Junk is tomorrow's Treasure. Just look at coffee, red wine and dark chocolate!10
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caroldavison332 wrote: »no. we pay too much in taxes already and it won't dissuade people from eating it. Look what they pay for cigarettes.
Look at how much smoking has decreased with taxes and education over the last 30 years or so.
Tax away. Candy, sweetened drinks, chips, etc if the money is earmarked for education and treatment of obesity related issues17 -
no3
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Excessive sugar consumption causes a boat load of health issues. I'd be in favor of taxing "junk food" if a), it could be positively identified/quantified, b) the tax could be placed in a trust that could only be used to help mitigate the health cost of obesity, and c) could not be used by the government for any other purpose.
Since c is impossible, I'm against it. How about we bring back physical education in our schools?18 -
Rob_Drewry wrote: »Excessive sugar consumption causes a boat load of health issues. I'd be in favor of taxing "junk food" if a), it could be positively identified/quantified, b) the tax could be placed in a trust that could only be used to help mitigate the health cost of obesity, and c) could not be used by the government for any other purpose.
Since c is impossible, I'm against it. How about we bring back physical education in our schools?
Do you not have physical education in the schools where you are? There are more options for phys ed now then when I was in high school.
Also, the problem extends beyond children.
I am still in the don't tax it camp though.3 -
Isn't candy already taxable? Could have sworn I payed tax on my candy bar the last time I purchased one....but not all candy is junk food either....what about Dark Chocolate? Sweetened drinks, why sweetened? Would that include sweet tea, lemonade, milk, chocolate milk? ----Can't find any redeeming quality about chips except they are yummy...lol3
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Isn't candy already taxable? Could have sworn I payed tax on my candy bar the last time I purchased one....but not all candy is junk food either....what about Dark Chocolate? Sweetened drinks, why sweetened? Would that include sweet tea, lemonade, milk, chocolate milk? ----Can't find any redeeming quality about chips except they are yummy...lol
That's what I was thinking - "junk food" is already taxed.5 -
I wish we could tax stupid. We'd be rich!29
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Isn't candy already taxable? Could have sworn I payed tax on my candy bar the last time I purchased one....but not all candy is junk food either....what about Dark Chocolate? Sweetened drinks, why sweetened? Would that include sweet tea, lemonade, milk, chocolate milk? ----Can't find any redeeming quality about chips except they are yummy...lol
That's what I was thinking - "junk food" is already taxed.
No junk food is taxed like any other food like lettuce, apples, etc in most states. I'd assume the op is talking about something more than the regular sales tax.1 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Isn't candy already taxable? Could have sworn I payed tax on my candy bar the last time I purchased one....but not all candy is junk food either....what about Dark Chocolate? Sweetened drinks, why sweetened? Would that include sweet tea, lemonade, milk, chocolate milk? ----Can't find any redeeming quality about chips except they are yummy...lol
That's what I was thinking - "junk food" is already taxed.
No junk food is taxed like any other food like lettuce, apples, etc in most states. I'd assume the op is talking about something more than the regular sales tax.
Where I am (in Canada) food like lettuce, apples,etc are not taxed. Candy bars, chips etc. are.24 -
Alluminati wrote: »I wish we could tax stupid. We'd be rich!
We could tax a lack of personal accountability. Every time someone says it's the government's fault they're fat, an IRS guy would appear, smack them upside the head, and take a tenner from their wallet.51
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