One way to get rid of the obesity problem in our country. Also people being overweight drives up health care cost. So might as well have a fat tax. We can use a simple procedure like BMI, to determine if your overweight or not. If your not overweight you pay no taxes. If your fat/overweight your simply taxed like 10%-25%(depending how fat you are) of your income. This will of course anger alot of people who are overweight, but I bet you anything they will start to work towards losing weight. Also govt. can help support agencies like "heathy" programs to help educate people how to lose weight. Some of you may not like this idea, but who has a better idea to bring about change of people becoming healthy.
Pay for your own health care... and don't give money to fat people because they're fat. Taxing people because they are fat is just as bad as giving money to people because they're fat.
I like the idea of taxing the lard-arses - but the wobble-bottomed bastards will probably complain. Better to tax the stuff that turns them into blimps in the first place. There is tax on cigarettes and alcohol - why not fast food too?
Wow. Fundamental leftist mentality 101! How quickly and easily some would relinquish anothers individual liberty and rights to authority if they perceive immunity from susceptibility.
you're going to have to think up some other way than BMI. it's a joke. you'd be taxing muscle mass as much as fat...more really, since it's denser.
Granny says if dey ever do have a fat tax... ... dey'd make a mint off'n Ferd's g/f's... ... pro'bly wipe out the nat'l. debt... ... an' leave a surplus to boot.
I love how whenever a conservative comes up with a legitimate idea... you know one that is *kind of* smart, the liberals use the constitution as an excuse... I wasn't aware that liberals(socialists) know what the constitution was.
I don't think it should summed up as a "fat tax", but I think that those who are healthier, in general, should get a discount on their health insurance. I think that's a good way to motivate people to live better. I'm not saying that people with pre-existing conditions should be treated unfairly. I'm only talking about those who are exceptionally healthy, who hardly ever need any medical attention, should get a discount, just as some auto insurance companies do.
The problem is that the BMI doesn't always tell you if someone is overweight or not. It doesn't tell the different between fat and muscle. Other than that, a fat tax would be great - the extra taxes the fatties pay can go toward their gastric banding surgeries - if they pay for it out of their own taxes it wouldn't be so bad as demanding us taxpayers foot the bill.
OOOOORRRR We STOP trying to "incentivize" people PERIOD. Why don't we stop trying to engineer society to be perfect altogether??
I remember someone in the thread said "live, and let live". I agree. So if Billy chooses to live a healthy lifestyle, and he's not plagued by health problems, he should get a discount, no? No, I don't think that this should be preached upon anyone. Live, and let live, remember?
Just to point out that America is the most obese nation on earth (highest percentage of people who are obese). A Fat Tax may or may not be the way to go, but the increase in aggregate weight of the population in the last 25 years has been astounding. Being obese is not good for either one's health or that of the healthcare system trying to look after you. Come up with a better solution, people. I'm all ears.
Fat is the wrong word. Unhealthy is a better one. because "fat" may or may not be a trait of an unheathy individual. Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical industry is banking big on the fact that Americans are so unhealthy. Just look at all the drug commercials since the late 90's. There's a pill for everything. And look at the effects on the stock prices for these companies. I feel that doctors have an incentive to keep people coming back to their pharmacists for refills vs. fixing their problems.
We do have scales today to measure the (%)percentage of how much fat you have. Along with the BMI being false if your muscular. Simple fact is, our country is getting fatter by the year. since1981, I don't mind overweight people. Let them get fat all they want. If its the main cause that is driving up health care cost. With retarded Obamacare, its going effect both of our pocket in the near future. "Live, and let live" can only go so far when it effects your tax dollars. Read a article by 2025 75% Americans will be overweight. Also with everyone who disagrees with the fat tax, PLEASE suggest any better idea? Really. Why should a fat person give a rat a$$ losing weight, and he is living off your tax dollar. There is no reward for him/her to loose the weight either. SiliconMagician- I'm not trying to "engineer a perfect society" could care less about it, but when fatties are going to effect my tax dollar. Now it's crossing the line. With so many fat people today, I'm starting to feel lucky.
Love the idea, it would certainly help me get rid and keep off 10 extra pounds that I have, but doctors would have to take into consideration the nature of my work: I need lots of energy to do the heavy work and therefor a few extra pounds for energy, but your idea is really excelent, because of all the unemployed welfare lazy people i've seen in the cities etc. metric ton mom with a shopcart full of chips and soda pulling out access card etc. these people should have no right to vote, then laws like this could be passed.
There already is a fat tax. FICA. Obesity shortens lifespan and so most obese people will not collect as much Social Security as thin people.
Why because you don't want to pay your tax being fat. I bet you anything that every one that voted no are overweight.
