Fat Tax (2 Viewers)

[loquasagacious]

smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/paying-the-cost-of-fighting-obesity-20100110-m0n3.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_tax

Should we have a fat tax of some sort? And why/why not?

A couple of off the cuff pros/cons to kick it off:

Pro:
- Pigovian tax would pass on the healthcare costs to the individuals and they would make better decisions
- Revenue raising
- Improved health

Con:
- We must oppose the state/taxes in all instances
- Completely privatising healthcare would be a better measure

 

[pman]

Pro:
-Fat peoplewould be encouraged to exercise/stay skinny, this would mean a higher percentage of attractive people around.
-I don't pay for your problems.

Con:
-Will raise instances of lap band surgery.



Should also have a higher tax rate for smokers

 

[Kwayera]

A retarded part of me likes the idea. But no. It is retarded.

 

[JonathanM]

Should also have a higher tax rate for smokers

Why? Obesity is now more serious and costs the country far more money than smoking. Smokers are already highly taxed and are treated as second class citizens.

I think obese people should be made to eat outside, just as smokers are forced to smoke outside, so they don't contaminate us with their ravenous, insatiable hunger.

 

[ilikebeeef]

Con:
-Will raise instances of lap band surgery.

That could be a pro to doctors who do it . Plus there could potentially be more research into weight loss mechanisms --> pro

Cons:
-Fat people (or people who like "junk" food) don't want to be taxed, they may argue that it is their right to decide what themselves to be and so they would say that it would be discriminatory to tax them. Also since like 1 in 4 Australians are above "healthy weight range", this could prove to be an unpopular idea.

-The term "fat" is quite subjective sometimes.

-people can buy their own potatoes and make their own fries at home.

-maccas isn't that cheap nowadays anyway.

 

[Anonymous-]

I think obese people should be made to eat outside, just as smokers are forced to smoke outside, so they don't contaminate us with their ravenous, insatiable hunger.

m8, why do you h8 fat ppl m8

 

[kaz1]

Some skinny people like fatty foods as well and we shouldn't suffer.

 

[BlackDragon]

Completely privatising healthcare would be a better measure

I agree with nemo. Privatising healthcare is a really bad thing to do. Just look at the mess america's health care system is in. Health care should always be at least partly public, so that all people have equal access.

 

[Will Shakespear]

They're like 30-40% of the population now, which is enough to make it politically untenable

 

[SylviaB]

1. Obviously opposed for clear libertarian/right wing reasons etc etc
2. A Fat tax would raise the cost of living for the poor.
3. Sure, it may seemingly incentivise making healthier food choices, but healthy food is already more expensive so it would only help to make healthy food cheaper compared to unhealthy food. And this may sound like a generalisation, but I'm willing to bet that at the same price, an overweight person would rather buy unhealthy food than healthy food, and even if healthy food was cheaper they would generally prefer the convenience of unhealthy food rather than going to the effort of making tasty healthy food.
4. Sure, the point could be made that overweight people cost huge amounts of money to the public health system, but this is a problem with our public health system, not a lack of "healthy regulation"

I agree with nemo. Privatising healthcare is a really bad thing to do. Just look at the mess america's health care system is in. Health care should always be at least partly public, so that all people have equal access.

To claim that the American health system is a mess because it is private shows a huge ignorance of the situation.

The main reason healthcare is so unaffordable in America is because of stupid statist regulations.

Prime example: You can't legally purchase health insurance from a different state.

This GREATLY reduces the competition between insurers, and hence allows them to charge more. In some states, a single provider can have as much as an 80% market share.


And do you know what's convenient? Joe Biden, when pressed by McCain, said that removing such regulation would be a bad idea. So he was against making healthcare cheaper, so as to make the system worse, making the Democrats' future healthcare bill all the more inviting.

 

[BlackDragon]

Still, health is a fundamental service and should be made such that all people have equal access.

 

[Will Shakespear]

Just from personal experience, most poor people are pretty stupid.

If you cranked up the price of junk food they'd just pay less of their bills than they already do.

 

[pman]

don't put the tax on junk food...put the tax on actually being fat! i.e, if your body fat is over a certain percentage (higher for girls), you have to pay an annual tax...everyone must be tested...

Make the tax variable depending on percentage

 

[ilikebeeef]

don't put the tax on junk food...put the tax on actually being fat! i.e, if your body fat is over a certain percentage (higher for girls), you have to pay an annual tax...everyone must be tested...

Make the tax variable depending on percentage

What if you are pov* and fat at the same time?

*pov as in too pov to pay tax for our current system

 

[Tulipa]

This appeals to the part of me that is bitter about the rising taxes on cigarettes.

But like Cat said, retarded tax is retarded.

 

[loquasagacious]

don't put the tax on junk food...put the tax on actually being fat! i.e, if your body fat is over a certain percentage (higher for girls), you have to pay an annual tax...everyone must be tested...

Make the tax variable depending on percentage

All citizens must regularly report to a government weighing station?

 

[showy]

Not going to happen, ever.

People that are fat due to medical conditions/disabilities etc etc wouldn't be able to comply. Old people can't lose weight, young people are robbed of their freedom and poor people are ripped off by the system (again and again so it seems).

Once I saw this seriously, morbidly obese couple sitting on their front lawn eating two ice creams each with the works- sprinkles, chocolate, flake etc etc- one in each hand. I promptly heaved in my mouth and went for a workout.

The fat people are taxed by non-monetary means, they have a worse quality of life which should be enough incentive to stop scarfing themselves.

A fat tax would equate to discrimination, the labor party would do back flips.

Put a tax on maccas.

 

[jennyfromdabloc]

Obviously oppose it, freedom ect. But a few practical considerations:

How do you levy the tax, is it based on fat content, or energy content?

Basing it on fat content makes no sense, since all energy is fattening. If it is based on energy content it could simply become a tax on men, tall people, and people who work out and thus need more calories.

The amount of fat which might be unhealthy for a 40 year old woman might be beneficial for a 20 year old bodybuilder.

Do you distinguish between trans fats and other fats?

What is junk food and what is not? If the tax is on "junk food," presumably as determined by "experts," what is to stop fatties from gorging on other foods high in sugar and fat that do not get the classification. Would basic goods like sugar, flour and butter which can be used to produce "junk food" be taxed.

 

[SylviaB]

occam's razor: perhaps privatised healthcare just fucking sucks balls and your complicated explanation is gh3y.

wow nice trolling bro

Still, health is a fundamental service and should be made such that all people have equal access.

know what's more important than healthcare?


FOOD


FREE FOOD FOR ALL CITIZENS

 

[year12_2010]

Obese and overweight people would feel singled out. What's next 'skinny bonus' get money for healthy food.. yeah yeah yeah. Why people need to be taxed for a basic human right: food?