Should fat people pay higher taxes?

I'm of the opinion that fat people should pay higher taxes. Especially now that ObamaCare has kicked in. The reasoning is simple: they consume more resources on average than everyone else.

They take up more space on public transportation.
They contribute slightly more to wear and tear on roads and public sidewalks.
They cause public elevators and escalators to expand more energy to move them the same distance.
Most importantly, they drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone else.

In fact I think people who choose to live unhealthy lifestyles of any kind should have to pay more for public healthcare, since they are the ones using more of those resources. I choose not to smoke, I choose to control my diet, and live a relatively healthy lifestyle. As a result I rarely if ever need a doctor visit. Why should I pay the same in taxes for ObamaCare as people in the same tax bracket who don't make healthy lifestyle choices?

reply to post by SilentKoala


Explantion: 'Normal' people don't consume enough and therefor don't drive and grow the economy by creating jobs in the economy and therefor should be taxed the most.

Personal Disclosure: Only 2 things are garanteed ok ... Death and TAXES!

Sure.

You could even just throw in an "unhealthy" food tax and be done with it, create a matrix of calories vs tax rates and there you go.

Just as long as you throw in other vices, Smoking, drugs, etc.

Hell might as well tax all kinds of bad behavior as well, reckless drivers or people that TEXT while driving cause more accidents and hence more injuries so lets tax them too...

Tax reform is whats needed in America, NOT MORE TAXES.

Im frankly tired of taxes being raised and government spending irresponsibly, Maybe they should learn to manage their budget like the rest of us do before they demand more from us for ANYTHING else.

If the money going to things like the WAR on terror, and the War on Drugs where funneled into social programs we could have public Health care completely free with the same tax burden if not less.

Maybe anorexics and bulimics should pay higher taxes too by your reckoning or how about all who have thyroid conditions yep go ahead and open that door and soon you'll be charged for the air you breath.

Guess you can tell what I think of the idea.

How about a 150% tax on senators and congressmen until budget is balanced without new taxes - that'd get the critters working heh.

reply to post by OmegaLogos


Ah, the "everyone break your windows" fallacy. It's incorrect that consumption is good for the economy. Sure, consumption creates jobs, but those jobs are needed to build the wealth back to what it was before the consumption. It's the amount of wealth that is an indicator of the standard of living, not the rate at which it is created and destroyed.

Originally posted by SilentKoala
I'm of the opinion that fat people should pay higher taxes. Especially now that ObamaCare has kicked in. The reasoning is simple: they consume more resources on average than everyone else.

They take up more space on public transportation.
They contribute slightly more to wear and tear on roads and public sidewalks.
They cause public elevators and escalators to expand more energy to move them the same distance.
Most importantly, they drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone else.

In fact I think people who choose to live unhealthy lifestyles of any kind should have to pay more for public healthcare, since they are the ones using more of those resources. I choose not to smoke, I choose to control my diet, and live a relatively healthy lifestyle. As a result I rarely if ever need a doctor visit. Why should I pay the same in taxes for ObamaCare as people in the same tax bracket who don't make healthy lifestyle choices?

I feel STUPID people should have to pay more taxes because we have to put up with stupid threads like this

reply to post by SilentKoala


Who defines fat?

A scientist who gets government funding?

I think before we attack people who are overweight, we need to corner out government and the FDA for allowing, high fructose corn syrup, aspertame etc. etc....

Why is it so easy to blame the victims?

reply to post by SilentKoala


I'm as skinny as they come, but to have someone pay higher taxes for their body weight is ignorance at its best, in face what about the ones who cant help it because of genetics, or slow metabolisms?

bacl before my health problem... i weighed 130-140 lbs for some 35 years

for the past 16 years , after i got back on a 'normal' diet i balooned to 160-170-180-190 and flirted with 200 on some ocassions-


i still think that if obese people pay the same for transportation, motor vehicle taxes (based on curb weight of vehicle)
that us obese folks are getting a free ride... because my extra 35-40 pounds of mass is adding stress to escalators/ elevators, road use, etc etc

kids ride free

but obese turds like myself are not contributing their fair-share to the normal operations of living in society

reply to post by SilentKoala


They pay for those resources thus contributing more than most to the economy. Perhaps they should get some kind of a kick back?

Weight wise, we might consider charging heavier trucks more for road or mileage taxes than smaller cars. I mean my little Taurus doesn't do as much damage as a semi so why do I pay to repair the roads the semi's are tearing up? But that and a few others very obvious are the only instances I can think of where weight might make a difference in tax.

What about cheerleaders and people that play sports that result in a lot of sports injuries?

I have a friend that was a singer that had her hyloid bone (some bone in her throat) shaved after getting a doc to say it was overgrown.

What else can we find in human behavior that we can justify making THEM pay more than US?

reply to post by SilentKoala


When I was a smoker, I kept saying "wait till it happens to you".

Now, as an x-smoker I just laugh at people like you..........

You got what you wished for,

Originally posted by SilentKoala
reply to post by OmegaLogos

 

Ah, the "everyone break your windows" fallacy. It's incorrect that consumption is good for the economy. Sure, consumption creates jobs, but those jobs are needed to build the wealth back to what it was before the consumption. It's the amount of wealth that is an indicator of the standard of living, not the rate at which it is created and destroyed.

What about all the jobs created from having to recalibrate our entire society to accomodate said people? Redisigning airplanes, furniture, etc. Then you've got diet books, pills and foods, gym memberships,plus-size clothing...all of that stuff has to be designed, manufactured, distributed and sold. Jobs.

Fat people have more money to spend, because they're usually smart and have good jobs. Thier consumption DOES create jobs-more consumption means more people are needed to fill orders, more factories have to be built, new logistics planning has to take place to handle the swelling supply chain-all of this means jobs.

Then there's health care-unhealthy people need more doctors and medicine-more hospitals need to be built, more doctors hired, etc.

Let's face it, fat people are good for the economy!

How about fit people, less than 15% body fat pay significantly less taxes?

reply to post by SilentKoala

Most importantly, they drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone else.

Can't we tax sporty people more too? They have all kinds off injuries and this doping shaait can't be good for the future health bill either.

Originally posted by solarstorm
How about fit people, less than 15% body fat pay significantly less taxes?

Where does that end?

I have HIV. But I have a T-cell count over 1,000. Better than most 'healthy" adults. I am "fit". I am normal weight 130 lbs.

Where does it end?

As I said before, thanks to all you smoking Nazis....just wait....this idea won't be as far fetched as you think

reply to post by SilentKoala


Explanation: Aint nobody got time for that ... here is why ...

About THINK by Edward de-Bono [creasynth.nl]

The Myth of the Monohops

Monohop society was intensely logical. Early in the development of this culture, the sociologists had come to the conclusion that most of society's troubles arose directly from man's ability to attack his fellows and from his ability to run away. The former encouraged agression, the latter crime. It was agreed that if man's mobility could be reduced at an early enough age society would benefit. Therefore soon after birth the left leg was amputated from each monohop child.

With its usual rapid adaptation, society soon organized itself into a monohop world. Bicycles had but one pedal, right shoes were the only shoes ever made, all staircase were abolished and replaced by lifts and escalators. In short so completely did society become monohop that no one noticed any inconvenience.

Whenever someone suggested that a two-legged society might be preferable, he was not met by hostility but by puzzlement. Why, they asked, should we change?

Everything is running smoothly. Wouldn't we have to go to great expense to make and buy left shoes? Wouldn't our bicycles become useless? And what about unemployment among surgeons and lift-makers? What about agression and crime - we know there would be a great increase? Besides, can you prove that change would better, have you collected statistical evidence to show that two-legged monohops would be better than the usual variety?

But, said the revolutionary, is it not obvious that a man with two legs can do all that a man with one leg can do - and more as well? That may well be, they said, but monohops are clearly the best suited to this monohop world. We are concerned only with getting our people to hop as excellently as possible (we have exams, you know), not with how much better life would be if we had two legs instead of one.

And here are 2 informative threads authored by myself ...

Cooking the Books on Tax and Liberty! Lets try a new recipe shall we? (by OmegaLogos posted on 23-10-2011 @ 12:58 AM) [ATS]

Scientists, working on curing Death, before curing Taxes, are dooming us all to be Taxed FOREVER!!! (by OmegaLogos posted on 24-10-2011 @ 01:28 AM) [ATS]

Personal Disclosure: TPTB are concerned only with getting their slaves to pay as much tax as possible, not with how much better your life would be if your tax was minimized ok.

The op has suggested that overweight people should be taxed more as they live an unhealthy lifestyle.

Well if you are going to do that, how about the following:
People with poor dental hygiene should be taxed more, as the same plaque that builds up on the teeth, will clog the arteries and they too should pay more taxes, rather than burden the rest of society.

Couples who have more than 2 children, after all they have more money to spend, why burden the rest of society, and as children cost alot of money, they should pay a higher burden.

Church going people, after all if they can give to a church or a house of worship, then they should be more than willing to give a bit more to the country.

Pro Athelets, you know the people who make millions every year for paying a game, they too should pay a higher amound of taxes, especially football, baseballs, boxing, infact every sport player should pay higher, as they will suffer injury that could burden society.

Movie stars and the entire entertainment industry, cause they cause problems in society. And as many of the Holliwood stars seem to have an opion, well they should pay more to reflect that opinion, putting their money where their mouth is. And with less money then less cases of say Lindsay Lohen or Paris Hilton, or any number of high profile and name persons who seem to flaunt the law and get away with it.

Politicians should have the highest tax rate, cause it is their laws that cause all of us grief.

Originally posted by SilentKoala
I'm of the opinion that fat people should pay higher taxes. Especially now that ObamaCare has kicked in. The reasoning is simple: they consume more resources on average than everyone else.

What a ridiculous notion. By your failed logic, should we be charging people with large families more taxes too? Because they consume more than you or the average joe? What about people who have health problems beyond their control? Just tax the hell out of them too, because they spend more time at the doctor's than you do? What about old people? Same basket? Hell why stop there? Anyone over a medium size should be taxed while you get off scott free because of your life choices? Not everyone has or can afford your lifestyle, some people survive on what they can afford, which if you've been to the supermarket lately, a bag of chips and a coke is a hell of a lot cheaper than vegetables and water these days.

They take up more space on public transportation.

Again, ridiculous. What about people with glandular problems or even bulky and large, muscular people (many of which are extremely fit). What about people confined to gophers or wheelchairs? Same deal.

They contribute slightly more to wear and tear on roads and public sidewalks.

I thought you may be actually serious until I saw this. Maybe if all of the fat people of the world walked on the same patch of sidewalk for, I dunno, maybe a thousand years, then yeah, it would be a problem....

They cause public elevators and escalators to expand more energy to move them the same distance.

Clearly you have no clue about mechanics if you think this. I suppose next you'll be saying they should be taxed for driving V8s because it's the only thing capable of carrying their fat asses around...

Most importantly, they drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone else.

Some facts and figures here would be a good backup for your claims. I know many many people who are overweight, who get sick and go to the doctors only when they are sick, which is rarely. They work for a living, pay their taxes and their dues towards the system. I also know elderly people, people with disabilities and the like who are constantly at the doctors, using up the system.

In fact I think people who choose to live unhealthy lifestyles of any kind should have to pay more for public healthcare, since they are the ones using more of those resources. I choose not to smoke, I choose to control my diet, and live a relatively healthy lifestyle. As a result I rarely if ever need a doctor visit. Why should I pay the same in taxes for ObamaCare as people in the same tax bracket who don't make healthy lifestyle choices?

Now there's the most sense you've actually made. People Who Choose. In actual fact, people do pay more for insurances being a smoker, due to their age etc. People pay their registration and vehicle costs the same, regardless of whether they are on the road constantly, or drive 5kms to work twice a week.

Although this sounds extremely mean to say, I do hope some major sickness befalls you in the future that has nothing to do with your lifestyle choices, so that you may see that how healthy or unhealthy you choose to live rarely has anything to do with how you fall sick and the fair treatment you receive as a result.

If you were actually serious about this, take that government "just tax everyone" attitude you have, and use it to educate people on your healthy living choices, or even use that supposed knowledge to start lobbying the government to help people with healthy living choices, rather than shoving a $2 bag of Doritos down their throats.

reply to post by sdcigarpig


So tell me again why smokers are taxed out the A-hole? More than non-smokers?