Fat tax?? What next, Big Brother?

I have no problem with it. I say tax the shit outta smokers, drinkers, and fat asses. Their weaknesses put a strain on the economy. So if you want to kill yourself fine, but you should pay a premium for it.

:D

Hard to disagree with that.

That's way to much Kool aid consumption for me Schneed.
The larger issue is, do you want the Federal Government controlling more and more of your life?
Do you want the Federal Government to determine for YOU, what you should and should not do?
Do you accept politicians legislating your freedoms away?
What if it seriously begins to impair things you like? Your ok with that?
As I don't smoke, fast foods don't mean much to me either, BUT, the same as smokers rights. It's another American going away (ior at least impaired).
IMO, our govt is WAY to fat and full of do nothing bloodsuckers as it is. I do not wish to further feed that problem. I would prefer to find ways to pay for new or enhanced programs, and needs through reductions of same.
Less is better

Kool Aid consumption? Huh???

It comes down to this: does a cigarrette tax prevent you from being able to choose whether or not to smoke? Last I checked, a pack of smokes isn't priced at a level that prohibits it from being possible. Therefore, the freedom to smoke is still in place.

It's not a matter of slant, or "drinking the kool aid." It's cut and dry. Do you have the choice or not? Yes? OK then, you have the freedom. Pretty simple.

Just because they put a tax in place doesn't mean you can't still exercise your rights. If you can explain that one to me, I'm all ears.

you know, the taxing only bothers me because of what its being used to pay for. we have a strong history of irresponsible spending. I know people that sell things to the federal govt. and they often try to spend the most they can on products (as much as they feel they can justify) so that they dont get budget cuts.

I also know of several programs with multi-agency participation and billion dollar budgets that get scrapped in early stages after breakdowns between govt agencies... no results but millions lost in spending.

Not to mention the pointless war that I have several family members fighting in...

I pay out about 20% of my income to taxes, then pay taxes on all the goods i buy, and even have to pay the feds taxes on the money i overpay to state taxes (WTF??) Not to mention Capital Gains, which investors just side step with Like Kind Trading, again only screwing the small time investors, who lack the resources to properly execute the trades...

I actually don't mind certain luxury taxes, and think its probably a good idea to tax fast food, I just wish they'd use the money theyre already taking for something worthwhile, instead of blowing it and thinking of ways to take more.

People are always so quick to pull the "The gov't is taking away our freedoms" card.

As Schneed says you can still smoke, drink and eat til your heart's content. Nobody is saying you can't, but you just may have to pay a little more for these vices.

And frankly what's wrong with recouping some of the financial burden these smokers, drunks, and fat asses put on the rest of us who lead relatively healthy lifestyles?

Did I just hear that Big Macs are gonna be 5 cents! Woo Hoo. Sorry for the sarcasm, but
IMHO adding a 5 cent tax on a big mac won't mean a hill of beans to those that consume them, I bet 90% of obese americans won't even notice or question the increase, 2 big macs costs me 10 cents more? No problem. I do think that obesity is going to cost this country huge if health care doesn't get fixed. I think they should have to pay more for health care, stick it to them where it counts. I don't want to have to pay for thier health care.

What upsets me more than anything is we have 3 kids and we shop at Walmart sometimes but its hard work to shop healthy in a store like that as compared to trader joe's, and then to see the fattie paying with the EBT card I think to myself WOW I just paid for all that crap anyway. Try and compare healthy shopping with all the crap you can get cheap, it sucks. Sorry, I'll get off my soap box. But I have a freind who owns a gym and we talk about this all the time.

In general, I do agree with the sentiment that we should be looking for ways to use our government funds more efficiently. There is indeed a lot of wasteful spending. Each program spends a bunch of its time trying to justify why they need to exist and why they needs funds, rather than actually putting the funds to good use.

Trimming spending is a good idea. At the same time, people just need to accept that our government is going to have some inefficiencies. It's a huge damn country. It's never going to be perfect. That said, we can definitely improve it.

But all that is neither here nor there; the core argument here really is whether or not the concept of a fat tax is bothersome. To me, it doesn't take away freedoms, and it helps ensure that those who will use the Medicare system most often will be paying more for it. I can't see what's not to like.

While I am shocked at the tolerance (at least on the surface) of the reponse in this thread of more govt intervention in our lives, so be it.
None of these intrusions impact me directly, l but I have concerns that they will in time directly impact things that ARE important to me.......and you!
I believe our govt is far to comfortable spending our tax dollars frivolously. I believe our govt is legislating ways to force Americans to comply with what "they" believe is best for us. I believe they have NO business doing either.

Well, we already have helmet laws, and motorcycle insurance is quite limited in it's coverage when compared to car insurance.

Depends on who you're talking about...there are still several states with no Helmet laws, such as where I live in NM.

I understand the comments about these people should pay a higher premium to kill themselves, it's a valid argument, but my concern is the slippery slope we're heading down.
Seat belt laws, anti gun laws, cig taxes...they are all in an effort to somehow control the general population. Wearing a seat belt should be my choice. Wearing a helmet should be my choice. Eating a burger at McDonalds should be my choice without having to pay a higher premium. What you guys are failing to see is that if this tax goes through places like McDonalds, Burger king etc will lose business, if they lose business, what is going to happen to the economy? How many employees do those fast food places employ? By taxing the food, the gov is saying we the people are wrong for choosing it. In a lot of cases we are, but who is the Gov to step in and tell everyone so. I personally HATE McDonalds with a passion, but my wife (who is 115 pounds) LOVES it. (the big n tasty) She is not fat, nor out of shape. She exercises every day to every other day...why should she be over charged for that burger?
I wear a selt belt every time I get in a car, but I understand the rights of others to not want to. I grew up in a state where you didn't have to (Mass) until recently. I don't always wear a helmet when I ride my motorcycle, and it's quite a different experience for those that haven't done it. I wear it when I plan to ride fast, (highways), but I don't if I'm piddling around town. I should never be told I have to wear a helmet, or a seat belt.
AGain, I understand the counter point to this, but I feel a lot of people are missing the point that this is becoming an evermore slippery slope. What's next? We are allowing the government to tell us what to do in just about everything we do, and that's not why the government is here. The government should not say "well you're not going to take care of yourself, so we will take care of you for you." And who really takes the brunt of this general idea? The people who work hard for a living. Cause they are over taxed and no cig tax, or fast food tax will decrease the amount of tax burden on the working man.

While I am shocked at the tolerance (at least on the surface) of the reponse in this thread of more govt intervention in our lives, so be it.
None of these intrusions impact me directly, l but I have concerns that they will in time directly impact things that ARE important to me.......and you!
I believe our govt is far to comfortable spending our tax dollars frivolously. I believe our govt is legislating ways to force Americans to comply with what "they" believe is best for us. I believe they have NO business doing either.

I think you're way off base and a little crazy at the same time.

If you think the tax is about anything other than trying to find a way to fund healthcare for the 40 million people who don't have coverage, then you're crazy. Politicians want votes, and if they pass a tax that helps 40 million people get coverage a bit easier, then they'll do it.

Politicians don't care if you die from eating fatty food. All they care about is getting elected, so they're not going to care about your freedom to eat a big mac. They just want votes.

Secondly, I think you're WAY overblowing this. For some reason, you're equating a tax with the government discouraging you (or even prohibiting you) from doing certain things. It sounds like you smoked some bad dope and you can't shake the paranoia. Trust me Hog, this fat tax is not a gateway to a mandatory nationwide 7:00 pm curfew. Nobody's trying to control you, they just want more money so they can make more people in the country vote for them.

Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather us see people stick it to some insurance companies. I know we've had this conversation in the past, yadda yadda yadda, but I HATE paying out the ass for "peace of mind". I haven't had to use it once yet, and still I've paid thousands of dollars over my lifetime.

They get to roll in MY money.