Quote:you can't tax food by it's health benefit...There would be lawsuits forever about taxing unhealthy foods and not healthy foods
I agree 100% about healthy foods being much more expensive...I'm diabetic and I am supposed to eat a low sodium, low carbohydrate, low sugar high protein, all natural diet...All the stuff I'm supposed to eat is so much more expensive than the regular stuff...I have been asking for years why the so called organic foods cost more and no one has an answer...I would think they should be cheaper...Supposedly there are no fertilizers used, no pest killing sprays, no artificial lighting, so there should be less labor and materials used in producing such foods, therefor. the cost to produce these foods should be less but instead they are higher...People buy into the hype of organic or all natural this or that and they buy it...If people would would being such suckers and paying such high prices for that stuff, the price would come down
Why stop there lets tax TV users by their hsage since being a coach potatoe is unhealthy and unproductive for society. Just track the hours the boob tube runs and add it to the cable bills. What else can we do we have to dictate lifestyle choices it's for the greater good!
Quote:Why stop there lets tax TV users by their hsage since being a coach potatoe is unhealthy and unproductive for society. Just track the hours the boob tube runs and add it to the cable bills. What else can we do we have to dictate lifestyle choices it's for the greater good!
That's the ultimate end of all this stuff, everyone has to do what the government says is best for them whether they like it or not.
Quote:Why stop there lets tax TV users by their hsage since being a coach potatoe is unhealthy and unproductive for society. Just track the hours the boob tube runs and add it to the cable bills. What else can we do we have to dictate lifestyle choices it's for the greater good!
Great idea we can even go a bit farther...just turn our paychecks over to the government for a "Living Tax" and let them take care of our every need
Quote:Why stop there lets tax TV users by their hsage since being a coach potatoe is unhealthy and unproductive for society. Just track the hours the boob tube runs and add it to the cable bills. What else can we do we have to dictate lifestyle choices it's for the greater good!
So, what is your proposed fix?
Quote:you can't tax food by it's health benefit...There would be lawsuits forever about taxing unhealthy foods and not healthy foods
I agree 100% about healthy foods being much more expensive...I'm diabetic and I am supposed to eat a low sodium, low carbohydrate, low sugar high protein, all natural diet...All the stuff I'm supposed to eat is so much more expensive than the regular stuff...I have been asking for years why the so called organic foods cost more and no one has an answer...I would think they should be cheaper...Supposedly there are no fertilizers used, no pest killing sprays, no artificial lighting, so there should be less labor and materials used in producing such foods, therefor. the cost to produce these foods should be less but instead they are higher...People buy into the hype of organic or all natural this or that and they buy it...If people would would being such suckers and paying such high prices for that stuff, the price would come down
It'll never come down until the price of the unhealthy stuff goes up. Yes, healthy food should be cheaper, but it isn't because they know people want it and television and media keep telling us that we must eat healthy or we will live shorter lives. This drives the demand up and the price goes up. People who can, spend the extra money on healthy foods do it out of fear of dying early. As long as they keep shoving that fear of death down people's throats the demand will be there and the price will stay high. It's a vicious circle, but an ingenious marketing campaign (if you have no morals.)
Quote:With respect you just said don't tax food, but tax food.
I meant not to tax the consumers, but to tax the companies making the unhealthy foods. Sorry I didn't make that clear.
Quote:AGREED! Tax the people to steer them in the direction you want them to go, do what they want you do do, live as they want you to live, just like herding sheep to a different pasture
What's the difference between this and making people pay extra on health insurance if they smoke or drink or are obese? It's the same thing. You are forcing them to pay more to be healthy and do what you want them to do and not live how they want to live. Either way, the middle and lower class are always slaves to the system of the rich, powerful people making the rules.
Quote:I meant not to tax the consumers, but to tax the companies making the unhealthy foods. Sorry I didn't make that clear.
So higher prices for everyone? Brilliant!
Quote:Why stop there lets tax TV users by their hsage since being a coach potatoe is unhealthy and unproductive for society. Just track the hours the boob tube runs and add it to the cable bills. What else can we do we have to dictate lifestyle choices it's for the greater good!
Sounds like a good plan to me. Pay for what you use. That's pretty "free market stuff" right there.
Quote:What's the difference between this and making people pay extra on health insurance if they smoke or drink or are obese? It's the same thing. You are forcing them to pay more to be healthy and do what you want them to do and not live how they want to live. Either way, the middle and lower class are always slaves to the system of the rich, powerful people making the rules.
The difference is in the "making", something government can do and the private sector can't.
Quote:Sounds like a good plan to me. Pay for what you use. That's pretty "free market stuff" right there.
Just stop. You dont need a government middleman. Instead of all this how about we just remove the market distortion and move on?
Quote:So higher prices for everyone? Brilliant!
No, but if the healthy stuff and the unhealthy stuff were the same price, it would make them be in real competition and drive down the cost. If people had a choice between buying healthy food and unhealthy food with both being the same price, more people will buy the good stuff. Right now, they don't have a choice, they buy what they can afford which is almost always the unhealthy crap full of cheap fillers.
Quote:The difference is in the "making", something government can do and the private sector can't.
You can govern the private sector.
Quote:Just stop. You dont need a government middleman. Instead of all this how about we just remove the market distortion and move on?
What's the matter? Are you against a free market?
Quote:No, but if the healthy stuff and the unhealthy stuff were the same price, it would make them be in real competition and drive down the cost. If people had a choice between buying healthy food and unhealthy food with both being the same price, more people will buy the good stuff. Right now, they don't have a choice, they buy what they can afford which is almost always the unhealthy crap full of cheap fillers.
Such nonsense. You can eat fresh veggies and fruit from a mid-scale store like Publix for 20$ a week or less. People eat poorly because they can because we are a wealthy society suffering a crisis of overabundance.
Quote:What's the matter? Are you against a free market?
Government activity distorting the market hardly constitutes a free market. At best it's a hampered market, what we have isn't even that.
Eating healthy takes time and preparation. A lot of people aren't committed to that. I'm a little surprised there hasn't been more of an influx of health based fast food chains and not just the regulars serving "more healthy" items knowing damn well you are going to add a side of fries to that.
Quote:Eating healthy takes time and preparation. A lot of people aren't committed to that. I'm a little surprised there hasn't been more of an influx of health based fast food chains and not just the regulars serving "more healthy" items knowing damn well you are going to add a side of fries to that.
Convenience and abundance. We're facing something unheard of in history and our medical sector is still increasing the average lifespan every year.
Quote:Such nonsense. You can eat fresh veggies and fruit from a mid-scale store like Publix for 20$ a week or less. People eat poorly because they can because we are a wealthy society suffering a crisis of overabundance.
You're so full of it. You must have no clue how poor people actually live. Are people supposed to eat nothing but fruits and vegetables? If you add that cost onto the rest of a grocery bill the cost is very high. Just by buying the basics anymore of bread, milk, cheese, cereal, juice, and some kind of meat for
one meal or two will cost over $25 at Walmart and that is the cheapest grocery store around where I live. When you figure that some people get paid once every two weeks (if they have jobs) and you need to eat at least one meal a day, not to mention the gas it takes to get to the grocery store, there goes a large part of the paycheck of someone making on average of $15/hr. and that's a pretty good paying job where I live.
Quote:Convenience and abundance. We're facing something unheard of in history and our medical sector is still increasing the average lifespan every year.
Yep. Blood pressure and cholesterol meds work miracles.