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Should junk food be taxed?
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Yes, i'd certainly like to see some kind of "sugar" tax, but not to the extent that we would create "prohibition" conditions.
This isn't something to be taken lightly but otoh neither is a 30% obesity rate.
Not enough is being done to help people control their weight, overeating is a hugely popular hobby.2 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
That's already done, mostly at the state and local levels. Very few places have no tax on prepared foods.1 -
I do agree that raising taxes on junk food might lead to less obesity... quite a possibility.
However, there are better alternatives for aiding in fighting the obesity epidemic. For example, why not further people's resources to gain knowledge of the "obesity epidemic", so that they then have the right knowledge to decide for themselves how much junk food they will eat.
More important it should start in school cafeterias to mandate them to only offer healthy foods, this will make a new generation in the near future, they will already be 'programmed' to eat healthy.
Where I am this is already the case. You cannot buy pop, chips, chocolate bars, etc in school. Veggies are available for snacks ( and pretty much untouched).
The kids who can leave the school property and buy food from nearby fast food places and stores.
And forcing only "healthy" options in a cafeteria means higher costs to eat there. Which again, comes back to punishing those who can't afford it most.2 -
Yes, i'd certainly like to see some kind of "sugar" tax, but not to the extent that we would create "prohibition" conditions.
This isn't something to be taken lightly but otoh neither is a 30% obesity rate.
Not enough is being done to help people control their weight, overeating is a hugely popular hobby.
why in the world do you want the government trying to regulate weight?????? And there is absolutely nothing wrong with sugar when consumed in moderation...5 -
HELL to the NAW.
And taxation is theft.3 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Rather than punitively taxing food items, I do believe that the U.S. federal government should bring to an end the subsidy for domestic sugar production. That will raise the price of sugar, yes.
I was going to say the same thing about HFCS in the U.S. Either tax products that contain HFCS or stop subsidizing it so heavily. Either way results in packaged food being on a more even costing structure with other foods. My biggest concern is that poor people often rely on cheap packaged / junk food to survive (the reason why obesity is an issue even with the poor here - affordable fresh food is not as accessible as affordable packaged and calorie dense food... but that is a different thread), so an increase in food assistance would be needed to make this work.
No, they're fat because they don't understand (or care) how math works. I dropped 15 pounds eating fast food at one point, out of sheer laziness.
I wasn't talking about fast food.
Then do explain exactly what you meant by "food desert", because even if the most middle of nowhere places, I've always been able to find either a fast food joint, or a legitimate grocery store.
I didn't use the term "food desert" so I couldn't have meant anything with that term. What do you mean by that term?
Sorry about that, read someone else as you. Too damned many threads at once. So, allow me to put forth that question again, without my idiocy in play. What were you referring to then?
I mentioned "HFCS" and "packaged food." There are a lot of packaged foods containing HFCS ranging from Oreos to "fruit" snacks.
This is true, but I have yet to see anywhere that had these as the sole dietary option. In fact, I rarely even see them front and center anymore, like they were about 15-20 years ago. Hell, every town has a 7-11, and while it's not exactly a healthfood haven, it's not like they don't have options that don't consist of pure sugar.
Ultimately, the problem still lies with the consumer. It's no one's fault but your own, if you decide to eat a pack of Sweet Tarts, instead of buying a couple of wings (just to throw out something in a similar price range).
off topic but no not every town has a 7-11,just saying lol0 -
I say yes! Let's start with soda and candy. If we could use the tax money collected from the sales of soda and candy to help lower health care costs for us ALL and subsidize health food such as fresh produce for ALL then it'd be a self-inflicted wound if we choose to pay those taxes and an opportunity for everyone to have more access to fresh, healthy food and affordable health care.1
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queenliz99 wrote: »kristen6350 wrote: »Well, since junk food doesn't make people fat, too much food does, I don't see why it would help.
Trust me, too much of anything will make one gain weight.
Nailed it!!
I mean, I can go to Chipolte and down a 1,200 calorie burrito stuffed with "healthy food" for lunch, plus a 500 calorie breakfast of eggs and veggies, then a 500 calorie dinner of grilled chicken and veggies EVERY DAY of my life. That's 2,200 calories a day. 300 calories over what my body needs. All of that extra food made me fat, but all of it is considered healthy. There wasn't one chip, cookie, candy, etc in that whole day. But guess what? I'm 40lbs overweight because I ate too much food and didn't burn off the extra 300 calories a day. I didn't eat junk, but I'm fat and I'm at risk of diabetes. Not because I was binging on carbs, because I ate too many calories.
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I say yes! Let's start with soda and candy. If we could use the tax money collected from the sales of soda and candy to help lower health care costs for us ALL and subsidize health food such as fresh produce for ALL then it'd be a self-inflicted wound if we choose to pay those taxes and an opportunity for everyone to have more access to fresh, healthy food and affordable health care.
LOL that is never going to happen...
I fail to understand why people want to trust a government that runs up trillions of dollars in debt, and can't even get Amtrak to run on time....??
Please tell me where in the US constitution I have a right to access "healthy food and affordable health care"?13 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
That's already done, mostly at the state and local levels. Very few places have no tax on prepared foods.
Really? Are you talking only restaurant/fast food or are you including things like frozen meals?1 -
I say yes! Let's start with soda and candy. If we could use the tax money collected from the sales of soda and candy to help lower health care costs for us ALL and subsidize health food such as fresh produce for ALL then it'd be a self-inflicted wound if we choose to pay those taxes and an opportunity for everyone to have more access to fresh, healthy food and affordable health care.
Or, here's a novel idea: people could pay for their own *kitten*. I know, crazy right?10 -
NorthCascades wrote: »@mskessler89 - If you look at the chart, teen smoking dropped sharply beginning in 1999. Indoor smoking (including in middle schools) was banned long before then, so can't be responsible.
You don't think cost has any effect on people with a limited and fixed income? Economists disagree, and history doesn't bear your theory out.
People could still smoke in restaurants where I lived (small town Texas) in 1999; that was the time where it was being phased out. I'm not saying teens were smoking in buildings, I'm saying they were still in environments where smoking was shifting from being "normal" to "not acceptable." Anecdotally I can say that some adults stopped smoking as it became more inconvenient, cutting off kids' access to cigarettes at home.
Of course price has an impact, but I don't think your graph shows the complete picture. There's a small drop in teen smoking when the tax hits in 1999, but there's large, continuous drops over the next few years despite the price of cigarettes not going up very much. Also, despite the large price increase in 2009, the rates in smoking didn't fall much. That indicates to me that there are other factors at least as important as price. Education and environment were changing dramatically in the late 1990s but were more constant in the later 2000s. Do you disagree that education, environment, and accessibility are factors in a teen's decision to smoke?
And FWIW, when I moved to Singapore for high school, I was friends with kids who had money and kids who didn't. We all still bought booze with our fake IDs even though the alcohol tax over there is ridiculous, we just bought the cheapest stuff we could find. There's only so much tax can do; people will make sacrifices in other areas if they want something badly enough.
All this to say that I don't think taxation on junk food is going to change much behaviorally. Plus food is a much more complicated economy than cigarettes. Taxing one type of food will impact the price of another, and not necessarily in the way that anyone wants. For example, big-box grocery store brands - they will likely distribute the cost of the tax by lowering the cost of junk food and raising the prices slightly on packaged chicken, canned beans, frozen veggies, etc.3 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »I say yes! Let's start with soda and candy. If we could use the tax money collected from the sales of soda and candy to help lower health care costs for us ALL and subsidize health food such as fresh produce for ALL then it'd be a self-inflicted wound if we choose to pay those taxes and an opportunity for everyone to have more access to fresh, healthy food and affordable health care.
Or, here's a novel idea: people could pay for their own *kitten*. I know, crazy right?
Pretty sure I am WAY better at taking care of myself using my own money than the government could ever be.8 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »I say yes! Let's start with soda and candy. If we could use the tax money collected from the sales of soda and candy to help lower health care costs for us ALL and subsidize health food such as fresh produce for ALL then it'd be a self-inflicted wound if we choose to pay those taxes and an opportunity for everyone to have more access to fresh, healthy food and affordable health care.
Or, here's a novel idea: people could pay for their own *kitten*. I know, crazy right?
Ok enough, I'm tired of awesome-ing your posts in this thread.10 -
I do agree that raising taxes on junk food might lead to less obesity... quite a possibility.
However, there are better alternatives for aiding in fighting the obesity epidemic. For example, why not further people's resources to gain knowledge of the "obesity epidemic", so that they then have the right knowledge to decide for themselves how much junk food they will eat.
More important it should start in school cafeterias to mandate them to only offer healthy foods, this will make a new generation in the near future, they will already be 'programmed' to eat healthy.
Wouldn't a tax on junk food be a good way to fund education programs as well as healthier meals in schools as well as healthcare for obesity related issues.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
That's already done, mostly at the state and local levels. Very few places have no tax on prepared foods.
Really? Are you talking only restaurant/fast food or are you including things like frozen meals?
Using Virginia as an example: 2.5% on food for home consumption, 5% on everything else, covered as a general sales tax. Some localities do have an even further tax (some to the tune of 11-12%) for "anything intended to be eaten on premises", which can be twisted to include any and all frozen foods, when a microwave is available for public use (7-11 as an example).0 -
Yep, these taxes would be used for offsetting health care costs. Just like all the lottery money goes to education. Just like all the money in the Social Security fund is used to pay Social Security benefits. <sarcasm>13
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I knew this would be a hot topic when I saw the title. We're straying dangerously close to a political discussion in this thread.
I will never advocate for additional taxes. As a single, childless person who makes above average income, I already feel like I'm overtaxed, and the US government doesn't have a very good track record of wisely spending the money they take from my paychecks. That said, I'd be all for additional education about healthy food choices, calories, reading nutrition labels, etc., as I believe that would be much more effective at reducing our obesity problem. There's enough glut in the US government to fund that already - no need for more taxes.8 -
Yes, i'd certainly like to see some kind of "sugar" tax, but not to the extent that we would create "prohibition" conditions.
This isn't something to be taken lightly but otoh neither is a 30% obesity rate.
Not enough is being done to help people control their weight, overeating is a hugely popular hobby.
why in the world do you want the government trying to regulate weight?????? And there is absolutely nothing wrong with sugar when consumed in moderation...
Because the government pays over 50% of healthcare costs and that percentage is rising. Obesity ialong with smoking ate the biggest controllable health risks.
Agree nothing wrong with sugar in modreatiom, just like nothing wrong with booze in moderation and there is tax on that above.the typical sales tax.1 -
No, and it annoys me when I have to pay tax on my Coke Zero.2
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