Obesity Tax

New York governor David Patterson is proposing a tax on sugary drinks.

That is why, in the state budget I presented last Tuesday, I proposed a tax on sugared beverages like soda. Research has demonstrated that soft-drink consumption is one of the main drivers of childhood obesity.

Our tax would apply only to sugared drinks -- including fruit drinks that are less than 70 percent juice -- that are nondiet. The $404 million this tax would raise next year will go toward funding public health programs, including obesity prevention programs, across New York state.

I think it's great to combat obesity, but I don't really like this. I don't want the government taxing me more just because some people can't count calories.

Link

[edit on 19-12-2008 by Raustin]

Yeah I agree, this is a little extreme. Reminds me of how the British taxed the colonists for their tea (on different circumstances of course). I wonder if there will be a Boston Soda Party?

Heck, why stop on sugary drinks? They should tax ANY sugary items sold on the market. That way the chances of getting cavities and diabetes would be reduced as well!

[edit on 2008-12-19 by pikypiky]

yes, but the problem being that diet drinks are not shown to promote weight loss. Indeed, as stated, the only thing this would do is promote artificial sweeteners, which are dangerous carcinogens and toxins, and which were only pushed through approval in the FDA by the head of monsanto (makers of nutrasweet) by their then CEO Donald Rumsfeld through political manuevering.

reply to post by pexx421

I'm sure Monsanto has engineered a new soft drink by using their very own genetically modified sugar cane, carrying insect genes or something similar. Anyhoo, this insect gene in the sugar cane will likely cause people to loose weight when consuming the delicious drink thus keeping everybody trim and healthy!
Or something along those lines...
You see, there is nothing wrong by taxing sugar, hence causing unethical sodie-pop companies to use less of it. Besides, obese consumers will get much needed exercise when reaching into their pockets and lifting out more and consquently heavier coin.
Leave it to Monsanto to save the day and the human race.

Why not have a fat tax? Once a year have all citizens weigh in at the tax office and pay for those extra pounds.

I'm not serious as I feel the government has too much power already.

I wish some of the idiots who enact this stuff knew what it was like to be obese not because of your own actions but because of other health problems. I have a few family members who I know eat less than I do and exercise more than I do and are "obese" due to other medical problems. In public they are often treated like pariahs due to the negative social stigma associated with being overweight.

I wonder what class of people will next be made outcasts due to how they look or the habits they have, even if its beyond their control? I hope all these politicians don't like to drink socially, I have a feeling thats next

Eating to much red meat leads to disease also, so we might as well tax the crap out that also to push people to become vegetarians.

I can attest to the fact that there can be a medical cause for obesity. For most of my adult life I was 135 lbs and a size 7...low and behold my thyroid malfunctioned and I got up to 213 lbs before they found the cause. I have since had my thyroid removed and have worked hard to lose almost 40 lbs now and still working. Its funny how differently I was treated during my heaviest period. I don't mean funny haha. People can be cruel!

I highly doubt this tax would actually help anyone. It's about calories in calories out (and in rare cases medical problems). I know people that eat like crap that are thin and vice versa. We need to combat obesity through education not by taxing the hell out of anything that could cause it. The fact that smoking is still legal makes these little taxes seem ridiculous.

How far are we from having government tax on the oxygen we breath...



Oh man...

I really should not have typed that...

Now they know...




This type of stuff is the perfect example of what Government DOES...

calories in vs calories out is a crock. First off every single person metabolizes differently. Secondly the TYPES of calories you eat make a massive difference in how they are metabolized, as do diabetes and thyroid function, which while you write it off as a small percent are actually affecting massive amounts of americans now. Further, toxic load, which is also massive in americans also makes a difference, as heavy metals (which are more and more common) are stored in special fats that make them difficult to break down. Depression, hormone balance, nutritional deficiencies, all make dramatic differences upon metabolic processes, and americans now happen to be chronically sick due largely, i think, to the huge percentage of their food that is genetically modified, processed, artificial, garbage.

Point of example, 3000 calories of carbs get stored instantly as fat, whereas a person in a high protein diet, 3000 calories of meat is much more accessable as energy. Similarly, high fructose corn syrup skips the blood sugar metabolism and also gets instantly stored as fat, and is the #2 cause of type two diabetes. these things and many more make huge differences in peoples energy levels, metabolism, and ability to work off weight.