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Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
10,471 posts, read 15,842,447 times
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I don't have kids, yet I pay for school taxes.
I don't have a car, yet I pay for highways.
I live in a tent in a KOA because I love camping, yet I pay for housing assistance.
You can take this argument to "ad infinitum" if you want.
I do understand the concept you are trying to get across. I also think the concept is flawed. As previously mentioned, the camel already owns the tent. We're paying rent to the camel now, and sleeping out in the cold...and wondering how the F did THAT happen?
The United States WANTS people to be fat. Ever thought of that?
Just like we need illegal immigrants.
I think we should just subsidize everything and get it over with.
The airline industry. Hey - Flying is cool, Fool.
The "Big Three." They suck but they're all we got, 'cuz like, they ruined every other American car maker with the quickness.
People who don't understand loan applications. Also People who can't use a calculator.
Mortgage lenders who go under for giving out easy credit.
Bigger pants for hung internet tough guy stallions. Stallions - like us.
Ninja assasins who hunt down killer whales like Rosie O'Donnell and Tom Arnold. "Hello, this is the View and OMG KILLER FRAKCKING NINJAS. I'm ROSIE FRAKCKING O'DON...SIGNING OFF<<<URK.>>"
Flaming nerf Football games. What? It's the new national hobby. Come on Dude, catch the ball! ...Oh, Oh god. OW! ...OW!..HANDS..DRIPPING PLASTIC FIRE! >>>OW... YOUR TURN DUDE!!!!
Universal Health care that includes a free boob job and liposuction and lip injections. For women.... not you, dude. Not you. We'll get get pec implants, calf implants and a new head of hair, all on the public's dime.
Coffee and smokes and Red Bull and sexy wall calendars for internet addicts and MMORPG gamers. Why not? It's necessary for my quality of life.
A tax on certain types of food affects all who buy it, not just fat people.
It seems you are wanting to not have to pay extra money in insurance costs due to someone's eles's failings by suggesting that we all pay a higher price on certain types of foods, due to someone else's failings.
That's interesting.
RIght. Not all people who eat junk food are fat or unhealthy. Some people work out, are active,etc.
Have you learned nothing? Money is never used for its intended purposes. Just look at the tobacco settlement monies and taxes and where it gets spent.
I agree on principal but this won't stop obesity or reduce it, just like increasing taxes on cigarettes doesn't reduce smoking rates. It just takes more money from the citizens and gives Government more control over our lives.
Want an example? A Chic-fil-a sandwich meal costs around $5.50. Even a 10% tax on that won't deter me from enjoying my sandwich (I just got a $50 gift card!). But it will just take more of my money out of the economy and put it into the bottomless pit that is our federal Government.
Im dont think User_id, by his post, was meaning for the tax to be an obesity deterent, so much as a healthcare cost offset.
Most of the article he links to primarily focuses on raising funds, rather then combating obesity.
I do disagree with a part of User_Ids article though. At the end, it wants to give out "subsidies" to low income people to buy the right foods? Dont we already have this in Food Stamps? Maybe we should restrict junk from our current subsidies, rather then dump more out.
I used to work at a Kroger a very long time ago as a cashier, and it enraged me to no end when someone came through with a cart or two of unhealthy junk and started pulling out the food coupons (yeah, I worked when they were still actually coupons and not the new fangled EBT cards).
Also, dont we already participate in the manipulation of the market of farm products? I figure we could effectively drop farm prices to a very affordable level by manipulation of the market subsidies we already are paying.
As far as User_ids intent, I dont agree with him often, but Im on the same page as him here. I think people should be completely accountable for health related illnesses caused by their own doing. That should be nobodies responsibility but their own. If the crap that is helping them out in gaining weight is taxed more, it will indirectly help pay for the burden they are dropping on the system.
As far as one point you bring up wheels, if they get this extra revenue, what guarantee do we have that it wont be spent somewhere else, like social security money? I dont think there is one. Our stupid politicians will likely find another war, or some other non sense to dump it in to. So that would be a legitimate concern of any legislation like this.
RIght. Not all people who eat junk food are fat or unhealthy. Some people work out, are active,etc.
On the other hand, people who eat snacks as a snack, and in moderation, wont be severely harmed by any tax. An extra small tax on a bag of chips here and there isnt going to put any significant dent in a persons wallet over the course of a week, month, or year.
It will largely be people who double fist twinkies that will bare the brunt of this cost, and they should, since they are also largely the fat asses of society as well.
If a healthy person who double fists twinkies happens to get caught up in the net, thats unfortunate, but currently, ALL healthy people are getting caught up in the net. You might as well at least let the people eating healthy out of that net.
The only other solution would to force fat people to pay higher premiums on insurance, but that is opening a whole seperate can of worms here, since most people are insured through their company group plans. There is probably about 200 discrimination and law suit eggshells youd have to walk on for that, and there will be lawyers lined up for a piece of those class action suits.
There are so many inequities in the healthcare system that this one would just be a drop in the bucket.
Another example would be that, as a person who takes a pill every day for high blood pressure-and so have normal blood pressure, I'm uninsurable except though an employer. However, a person who has never been diagnosed with high blood pressure, but who is has it and might be a stroke waiting to happen, has no problem getting insurance. Unfair.
Im dont think User_id, by his post, was meaning for the tax to be an obesity deterent, so much as a healthcare cost offset.
Typical Government thinking. Cover the problem (obesity) with a solution (pour more money into health care) that doesn't actually fix anything.
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Most of the article he links to primarily focuses on raising funds, rather then combating obesity.
But the problem is obesity. Why do we need to raise the funds? Why not solve the actual problem?
The thing with obesity is, it's completely preventable in 100% of cases. It's a simple equation of eating too much food for your body to metabolize. If you sit at the computer all day and drive to work, and have a slow metabolism you simply need to eat less. Your body doesn't magically grow fat. It creates fat by converting unused energy (food) and storing it as fat.
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I do disagree with a part of User_Ids article though. At the end, it wants to give out "subsidies" to low income people to buy the right foods? Dont we already have this in Food Stamps? Maybe we should restrict junk from our current subsidies, rather then dump more out.
It's not a function of eating the "right" foods. It's a function of eating less calories than you use during the day. You could eat 100% carbs and still be within a normal weight range.
I used to eat 3000+ calories a day back in college but weighed 130 lbs @ 5'9". I ran 3 miles every other day, then biked 20. On the other days I lifted for an hour plus.
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I think people should be completely accountable for health related illnesses caused by their own doing. That should be nobodies responsibility but their own. If the crap that is helping them out in gaining weight is taxed more, it will indirectly help pay for the burden they are dropping on the system.
But that food doesn't cause people to get fat. ALL FOOD causes people to get fat. I guarantee if you ate 10 lbs of 99% lean turkey every day you would gain weight if you did nothing else but sit around and eat.
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As far as one point you bring up wheels, if they get this extra revenue, what guarantee do we have that it wont be spent somewhere else, like social security money? I dont think there is one. Our stupid politicians will likely find another war, or some other non sense to dump it in to. So that would be a legitimate concern of any legislation like this.
There is no guarantee. Which means we shouldn't be handing over more money to the Government. They are the worst "consumers" ever. If you think those folks who made $8.50/hr and got interest only mortgages on $350k properties were bad (yes I actually know one of them, those figures are real!) you haven't really looked at how bad the Government is with money.
The only other solution would to force fat people to pay higher premiums on insurance, but that is opening a whole seperate can of worms here, since most people are insured through their company group plans. There is probably about 200 discrimination and law suit eggshells youd have to walk on for that, and there will be lawyers lined up for a piece of those class action suits.
This is easily solved. My company gives financial incentive (ie CASH) to those who have their blood and weight taken and then meet weight loss goals.
I love this words from President Lincoln: We all declare for liberty, by in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean that each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with the others, the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men's labor. Here are two, not only different, but incomparable things, called by two different and incompatible names-liberty and tyranny.
People work hard for their money and get taxed to "help" others. That has been the reason pretty much anytime legislators come up with some type of tax on something.
To tax to modify behavior, eating bad stuff, is not the business of the government. Taxes should be those those areas that affect the nation as a whole i.e, raising and supporting an Army to defend everybody so we do not have to be trying to employ people do to so. Raising taxes on people for eating what they want to eat is not one of them. Let them pay the consequences, their right to do so thus they are just as entitled to pay for the consequences of their choices. No one should be paying taxes, their fruit of their labor, to help those that stuff their mouths all the time and because people choose to eat a delicious juicy and grease hamburger. To do so is being tyrannical and infringes on my freedom to eat what I want without having to pay out of my pocket for my choices in life.
What are the other lifestyle taxes on a federal level? Where in the Constitution are they allowed?
For example the federal cigarette tax. Its not "where in the constitution are they allowed", its "where in the constitution are they forbidden".
The constitution states:
"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, imports and excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all Duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States"
In what sense would a lifestyle tax be unconditional? You can try to argument its not "uniform", but the same arguments would apply to fuel taxes, etc. And it seems clear by "uniform" they mean the taxes are fairly applied the same way to everyone.
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