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With all this talk of healthcare it seems as if nobody is talking about the big elephant in the room.......American's in general are unhealthy.
If we really want to fix our healthcare system, doesn't it make sense that we should be focused on fixing our health first? While some will preach education in regards to curving obesity in this country, the truth is that very few people are unaware of the reasons as to why they're overweight. They simply lack the will-power or motivation to change their unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits. While there are individuals with underlying issues causing their obesity in this country, the reality of the situation is that they make up a very small percentage of obese Americans.
It seems as if we're in this gridlock of trying to provide decent healthcare to every American, while also trying to figure out who's going to pay for it. Rather than playing this back and forth chess match of politics, how about trying to pass some bi-partisan solutions aimed at reducing the obesity rate, which absolutely suffocates our healthcare system?
When I was a kid, everyone smoked. I remember being able to buy a pack of smokes for about a dollar, but right about the time I started smoking, the price of cigarettes and chewing tobacco literally doubled overnight. It then continued to increase in price until LOTS of people including myself decided that they no longer wanted to smoke anymore because of the cost. There was also a cultural change in regards to smoking at that time. It went from being socially acceptable to just something trashy people do in about a 15 year period. When you look at the reduction in smokers that has taken place in the United States, it really is pretty remarkable.
What if we did the same thing with food?
What if the price of junk food literally doubled overnight with a fat tax?
What if you weren't allowed to buy junk food with an EBT card?
What if you had to pay more into medicare without taking a yearly government physical proving you're not obese?
What if we actually overhauled the school lunch system in this country?
What if children had mandatory strenuous exercise in PE again?
What if active video games like xbox connect games or active phone apps like Pokemon go received tax credits as well as government funding?
What if we instituted massive government funded add campaigns geared at changing the acceptance of obesity in the same manor as we did with being a smoker?
Would you support massive legislature aimed at reducing obesity rates in the United States?
I think there should be a "fat tax" but not imposed by the IRS. I think insurance companies, airlines, clothing, heck taxis, etc. should be able to charge more for obese customers if serving them raises the cost of others.
Telling people how to live their lives is not a legitimate government function.
And, neither is providing their health care of insurance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PedroMartinez
I support removing unhealthy foods from "food stamps".
People who purchase their own food can buy what they want; however, when I'm paying for someone's food, I shouldn't also have to pay for their sugar induced diabetes treatments.
So do I! I wouldn't even mind just seeing them distribute food to those that qualify along with required training on diet/cooking, etc. They poison themselves and their children.
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Originally Posted by InformedConsent
Neither is paying for their health care when they suffer the consequences of their own bad food choices.
Exactly! And, there are so many of them too!
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Originally Posted by fibonacci
Logically, what's the difference between a fat tax and a tax on gambling, cigarettes, or alcohol?
None that I see.
Quote:
Originally Posted by InformedConsent
Nothing. It's a vice tax. Which is fair. All of those are choices: gambling, cigarettes, alcohol, obesity.
Oh, they want to suffer the consequences of their choices though, and I don't want to suffer the financial consequences of their negligent actions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivorytickler
Not the same. When you tax gambling you tax winnings not the person. When you tax cigarettes you tax the purchase of cigarettes not the person. When you tax alcohol you tax the purchase of alcohol not the person. Taxing someone for BEING fat is VERY different. To make it the same as gambling, cigarettes and alcohol you'd have to tax FOOD not the person.
I can go with a tax on "fat" food, that would include a hefty tax on fast food for sure. Ever see them coming out of McDonald's?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivorytickler
Which is why health care often costs more if you're overweight. The issue isn't taxes it's the cost of health care and that is between me and my provider.
On the bright side, obese people die younger so they collect social security and are on medicare for a shorter time. It all comes out in the wash.
Many end up on SSI or SSDI, so no, it's not coming out in the "wash".
Quote:
Originally Posted by miu
I would support a fat tax. Also taxes on purchases of sugary drinks and food.
Also a tax on families having more than two children.
Agree. What we need to do with families is stop rewarding them for having more children. Look at illegal aliens and the magic "4" and suddenly they get birth control.
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Originally Posted by Frank DeForrest
I dont support any wealth redistribution scheme, nor any any govt health care scheme. Diet is an individual choice.
So, we simply set it up so everyone takes care of their own health care, the cost? That works for me. If obesity is the issue, no government aide, they will be personally responsible. Sounds good.
Obesity is over the top and costing a bundle with each one of us subsiding the bad choices being made. They have tried to make it acceptable, yet because it affects more than the obese person, it is not selling.
How would you enforce a fat tax? Force everyone to weigh in monthly or yearly?
And BMI is a pretty lousy way of determining fat anyway. My son has the proverbial "big bones" - - he's just a dense kid. He's six years old but is ten inches taller than the average six year old. He has always been in the 99th percentile for height and pretty high for weight as well (92nd percentile) - - but he's not fat. And yet his BMI has always been pretty high too.
One thing is for sure: the lawyers would love to get the clients that would come with this!
And BMI is a pretty lousy way of determining fat anyway. My son has the proverbial "big bones" - - he's just a dense kid. He's six years old but is ten inches taller than the average six year old. He has always been in the 99th percentile for height and pretty high for weight as well (92nd percentile) - - but he's not fat. And yet his BMI has always been pretty high too.
One thing is for sure: the lawyers would love to get the clients that would come with this!
I'm sorry, but I don't generally buy the "big bones" excuse. Maybe your son is truly an exception, but not most people.
I consider myself very big boned (my wrist is 6.15 inches circumference, and I have size 10 feet ) - yet still at 5'11, I'm only 127 pounds. And no, I do not look skeletal.
"The set point, it would appear, is very good at supervising fat storage, but it cannot tell the
difference between dieting and starvation. The dieter who begins a diet with a high set point
experiences constant hunger, presumably as part of her body’s attempt to restore the status quo.
Even dedicated dieters often find that they cannot lose as much weight as they would like. After
an initial, relatively quick loss, dieters often become stuck at a plateau and then lose weight at a
much slower rate, although they remain as hungry as ever. "
Obesity isn't just about bad habits.
Science clearly shows that when you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight.
Once the body stops processing food correctly, money and diets make little difference.
Once again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PedroMartinez
Science clearly shows that when you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight.
That is just a FACT.
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) - yet still at 5'11, I'm only 127 pounds. And no, I do not look skeletal.
