"In Jasper Indiana a proposal has been submitted to require all people overweight that are not able to pass a required physical fitness evaluation a 15% increase in tax, this has been proposed due to the rising rate of obesity in the US over recent years...."

8/2/2005 1:51:17 AM

haha, my ideology says "NO!"

but every other part of me says "HELL YEAH!"

8/2/2005 2:05:34 AM

we'd need to have a national healthcare system in place to justify it

8/2/2005 2:07:23 AM

Would Oprah owe back-taxes?

8/2/2005 2:09:15 AM

^^nah, we could just have a provision for people who legitimately have a medical condition (thyroid problem, etc) to be excepted with approval from an approved physician.

8/2/2005 2:17:46 AM

they already have a higher tax on fast food than regular food in SC.

8/2/2005 2:22:05 AM

but that's bullshit, b/c if you're a physical specimen, you shouldn't have to pay more for fast food. you've got things under control.

8/2/2005 2:29:18 AM

It doesn't exactly change behavior either.

"Oh hell, this extra 70 cents is killing me. Gimme that pizza."

8/2/2005 2:31:19 AM

how bout tax cuts for the healthy instead of the converse

8/2/2005 7:02:41 AM

What about the anorexic and the bulemic?

8/2/2005 7:34:35 AM

blue cross offers discounts/incentives for those involved in fitness or other recreational type activity which is beneficial to their health.

8/2/2005 8:54:24 AM

That is hilarious though... I can laugh because I wouldn't be effected.

8/2/2005 9:46:08 AM

^^That I can understand. No insurance company in their right mind would give coverage to somebody who's very much overweight and at risk for every cardiovascular disease known to man, at least not without increased premiums.

I think that a "fat tax" is unjust and stupid, I think it's just another example of using the law or government to do social engineering (this particular example appears to have taken place on a city government level, though, which is far more preferable to a national fat tax). However, if you really want people to stop being fat, don't punish them for being fat, just reward them for not being fat. Kinda like what ^^ said. If you're not overweight or if you're at least doing physical activity that would be considered good for your health, you would get tax breaks and discounts and whatnot. Instead of punishing people, just give them an incentive. I think that they would respond better to that.

[Edited on August 2, 2005 at 9:48 AM. Reason : asdf]

8/2/2005 9:48:09 AM

Yeah a tax cut for the healthy would be much more beneficial to the population than a tax increase on the obese. The problem is that the city is looking for another way to make money, and by charging someone tax in a negative reinforcement style, it will make them some money. Offering a positive reinforcement of a tax cut would lose the city money. I'm sure they could care less if people are fat or not, it just gives them an excuse to create a new revenue source for their town.

8/2/2005 10:06:34 AM

What if we got the police to beat up fatties while on duty?

It will bring back the joys of middle school.

8/2/2005 10:11:39 AM

^ahahahahahahahah

gg

8/2/2005 10:16:52 AM

^^ Well, in some departments the police would be beating up on their fellow officers then...

8/2/2005 10:19:51 AM

it's funny

you already get massive benifits (physically, emotionally, socially) from being in shape rather than fat/obese

it's just hard for people to see

8/2/2005 11:34:33 AM

Whats funny is that I hear fat people bitch and say that its a genetic problem and that they're predisposed to being fat. Their big complaint is that no amount of exercise and healthy eating is going to make them not fat.

That being said, I never ever see fat people at the gym. I see them at Golden Corral.

8/2/2005 11:39:03 AM

^^ I think thats pretty true.

8/2/2005 11:55:45 AM

Quote :

"I never ever see fat people at the gym"

how often do you go to the gym dude?
including me, last night i'd say at least 3 or 4 of the 10-12 people at my gym were fat

normally, people on tww are complaining about too many fat people at the gym

8/2/2005 12:03:47 PM

Oh, well I go to the gym for beautiful people, so that might have something to do with it.

8/2/2005 12:06:38 PM

I go to a gym with really thin doors

8/2/2005 12:33:57 PM

i saw a comic routine that was talking about a fat tax

8/2/2005 2:01:10 PM

i think that healthiness incentives or fat taxes would only impact people slightly overweight. i don't see the morbidly obese changing their entire lifestyle to save a little money.

8/2/2005 2:13:47 PM

^ besides, bacon tastes gooooooooood

8/2/2005 2:15:37 PM

^^ What if we start executing people once they become too overweight for their size? Think that would change anything?

8/2/2005 11:18:34 PM

Because fat people really deserve to die, and because we all know that genocide or whatever is always a valid solution to any problem.

8/2/2005 11:19:58 PM

i sat we get 100% tax on shit food

8/2/2005 11:34:18 PM

Quote :

"I think that a "fat tax" is unjust and stupid, I think it's just another example of using the law or government to do social engineering (this particular example appears to have taken place on a city government level, though, which is far more preferable to a national fat tax"

I think it's unjust to have tax payers pay for lazy asses on government health care. I've seen families back home that have members that are 300-700 lbs, and none of them make enough to cover their medical bills. There are 300,000+ obesity related deaths a year, and they are likely getting health care up to the day they die. It's a strain on the system such a fat tax could relieve.

8/2/2005 11:56:41 PM

the people who CAN take care of themselves financially would still be paying for obese people's health care.

8/3/2005 12:02:47 AM

^^Then take them off of health care. You have a point, that situation is also unfair. If you're going to disregard what your doctor tells you (for instance, eat more healthy foods and get some exercise) and you get hurt because of that, why should the tax payers pay for your mistake? And a willful one at that. At the risk of sounding like the "let's punish the fat people by taxing their fat asses more" crowd, if you feel like you can afford a sedentary life style and your health deteriorates later on because of it, then you should be able to afford to pay the medical expenses yourself. People with thyroid problems and the like are a different matter, naturally.

But I see it like this; if, in the face of all the evidence that says X will harm you or Y will kill you, if you do X and/or Y anyway, why is anybody but yourself responsible for taking care of you? You know the dangers, you do it anyway, you get hurt, so why should everyone else be there to pick up the pieces?

8/3/2005 12:21:20 AM

why do we gotta make everything heavier duty like chairs, and elevators, and make doors bigger....its cuae of the fat people!!!!! they should have to pay more somehow...cuase taxes are already higher to cover there fat asses. maybe resturants should have a policy that if you are extremely overweight they can't serve you....at least then you don't gotta see fat asses in public they would be forced to be hermits in there hourse, as a matter of fact lets just make it so that really fat people can't get access to any establishments at all.....that way PEOPLE"S EYES don't have to be SO FUCKING SORE all the time looking at HEFFERS!

8/3/2005 1:11:03 AM

paternalism.

8/3/2005 1:11:54 AM

yes I agree paternalism is needed

8/3/2005 1:12:50 AM

what about those annoying atheletes who become disabled, now they don't have anything to contribute to society, surely they should be required to buy their own ramps to enter buildings? and those non-phd holders who aren't smart enough to be equiped to give back as much to society. and those mothers, who think just because they choose to have sex knowing what would happen, that they should be allowed leave time or close parking spots at the target when pregnant. and don't even get me own those kids who are maladjusted socially and unable to give to society cause they spend on their time on the interw3b.

Why can't everone just give back as much to society as I do in the same way that I do. I mean isn't punishing people for having different flaws than me more important than punishing all flaws or trying to helping people overcome them?

8/3/2005 1:19:32 AM

Eugenics baby!!!

A doctrine which holds that the human race can be "improved" by selective control of breeding to eradicate less "desirable" traits in society. The supporters of eugenics argue that social problems are caused by inherited genetic traits in people which can be bred out to resolve the problem for future generations. The logical conclusion of this theory is deeply racist and reactionary based on dubious research and prejudice.

8/3/2005 1:53:10 AM

Its the answer to our terrible diseased inperfect society!

8/3/2005 1:55:03 AM

Perhaps we could tax fat corporations instead of fat people...

8/3/2005 9:09:07 AM

Ummm a fat corporation isn't an out of shape person who won't take care of themselves....so would't work!

8/3/2005 11:15:22 AM

we should tax people with AIDS too.

8/3/2005 11:53:51 AM

^

Eh there aren't as many AIDS deaths, but if it became out of hand hell why not

8/3/2005 12:04:26 PM

Black people have a higher mortality rate, let's tax them.

Men die significantly earlier on average than women, let's tax them too.

8/3/2005 12:09:12 PM

You're correct, people make a conscious decision over the course of their lives to be black--good analogy we should tax them too.

Besides you are forgetting THERE ARE OVER 300,000 DEATHS FROM OBESITY EVERY YEAR AND COUNTLESS SEEKING MEDICAL HELP.

That is a little different than some minor rate difference especially considering that it's a conscious decision on the part of the person to stay a fat ass.

[Edited on August 3, 2005 at 12:55 PM. Reason : A]

8/3/2005 12:53:09 PM

Quote :

"Eugenics baby!!! A doctrine which holds that the human race can be "improved" by selective control of breeding to eradicate less "desirable" traits in society. The supporters of eugenics argue that social problems are caused by inherited genetic traits in people which can be bred out to resolve the problem for future generations. The logical conclusion of this theory is deeply racist and reactionary based on dubious research and prejudice."

The perfect answer to a SOCIAL problem. The vast bulk of our society comes not from poor genetics but from our culture and lifestyle. You can cull and skim the gene pool all you want, but it's not going to get rid of fat people in this country.

8/3/2005 1:22:43 PM

1. someone should just make an insurance company that doesn't deal with fatties

2. the candy bar tax in NC is going up apparently

8/3/2005 1:54:06 PM

they should tax male cheerleaders nobody needs them anyways

8/3/2005 2:34:38 PM

Quote :

"we all know that genocide or whatever is always a valid solution to any problem."

ummm, last time I checked, fat people did not constitute their own race...

8/3/2005 5:00:17 PM

picking on fat people only makes them fatter.

or bulimic

[Edited on August 3, 2005 at 7:12 PM. Reason : forgot bulimic]

8/3/2005 7:11:19 PM

^^I know genocide wasn't the right word, but I think you could easily follow my meaning.

8/3/2005 7:37:11 PM