Russell Williams
Well-Known Member
Last night someone told me that there is a proposal to put a tax on sugared carbonated drinks and then to use the money from the tax to fund weight loss surgery. As we talked back and forth I wondered. I knew that this tax would certainly enrich the medical profession but I wondered what proof there was that increasing the number of weight loss surgeries would improve the health of the people of this country.
I did some more thinking. If people are going to argue that there should be a tax on carbonated beverages and that the money from this tax should be used to improve the health of Americans then why not use it to increase opportunities for people to exercise? Instead of giving the money to doctors so that they can perform more weight loss surgery why not use it to establish bicycle paths, more sidewalks where people can walk, and more recreational opportunities in general.
I did even more thinking. If there is going to be a fat tax then why not also use the proceeds to eliminate all taxes on those recreational items which will increase physical activity. Taxes could be be eliminated from un-motorized items such as bicycles, canoes, tricycles, kayaks, hiking shoes, backpacks, skis, and many other items. I would hesitate to eliminate taxes on items relating to golf simply because poor people tend to be fatter than middle-class and rich people and, even without any taxes, golf is a somewhat expensive activity and in any case there are not the resources on golf courses to handle tens of millions of more golfers. I also would see no point in removing the tax from items such as snowmobiles, motor powered watercraft, sailboats, and vacation cruises.
So I guess the motto can be, "Improve the health of all! Stop taxing exercise!"
I did some more thinking. If people are going to argue that there should be a tax on carbonated beverages and that the money from this tax should be used to improve the health of Americans then why not use it to increase opportunities for people to exercise? Instead of giving the money to doctors so that they can perform more weight loss surgery why not use it to establish bicycle paths, more sidewalks where people can walk, and more recreational opportunities in general.
I did even more thinking. If there is going to be a fat tax then why not also use the proceeds to eliminate all taxes on those recreational items which will increase physical activity. Taxes could be be eliminated from un-motorized items such as bicycles, canoes, tricycles, kayaks, hiking shoes, backpacks, skis, and many other items. I would hesitate to eliminate taxes on items relating to golf simply because poor people tend to be fatter than middle-class and rich people and, even without any taxes, golf is a somewhat expensive activity and in any case there are not the resources on golf courses to handle tens of millions of more golfers. I also would see no point in removing the tax from items such as snowmobiles, motor powered watercraft, sailboats, and vacation cruises.
So I guess the motto can be, "Improve the health of all! Stop taxing exercise!"
