While driving in my car today I heard that a “Junk Food Tax” was being proposed as a way new way to combat obesity.
For the record: I do not agree with the idea of a junk food tax being an effective way to reduce obesity.
I’m not sure how any government would think they deserve some sort of reward (money) just because it’s population is obese and eats junk food.
I also don’t believe that junk food deserves to be taxed.
(Lean people eat junk food. So do healthy people.)
In fact, I think the idea of taxing to fix obesity is ridiculous in general. However, as a thought experiment I am willing to play along an offer an alternative.
So here’s my alternative:
For men tax any pants with a waist over 40 inches.
For women tax any pants with a waist over 36 inches unless sold as maternity wear.
Tax any clothes over XXL (If you happen to be so tall you need these sizes you can file for a “tall exemption”)
If you have a diagnosed disease (other than obesity) you can claim some sort of other exemption.
I don’t think I’ll ever get involved in politics (Unless the Canadian food guidelines include “Fast once or twice a week”), and I’m obviously not an expert in the field of politics or taxes, but to me, these are much more logical suggestions than simply picking a bad guy (taxes) and them making money off of them for being “bad”.
As a side note – I would love to see the effects of an entire nation endorse Eat Stop Eat style fasting to get lean and stay lean – my guess is the result would be pretty phenomenal.
BP
