Your comment is correct: Gluttony does indeed cost Americans massively, but a gluttonous diet is prompted by feelings of hunger when empty calories are consumed. Empty calories tell the body that it hasn't had enough. Sugar makes a person hungrier within a short amount of time. That is all proven and that is why obesity is rampant in this country - we have fat/MALNOURISHED people eating too many empty calories sparking gluttonous behavior! A diet consisting mainly of fibrous foods and protein (i.e. whole grains, vegetables, and meats) make a person feel FULL (not to mention good about themselves for making healthy choices) and therefore gluttony isn't an issue for them, unless there is a metabolic or thyroid disorder, which ironically often corrects itself with a healthy diet and exercise!
The proof is in the pudding...literally.
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I argue the contrary: If we subsidize the cost of healthy food with unhealthy food taxes, we are aiding the poor, by bringing more nutrition (not more calories) and subsequent prosperity to them (Fact: Obese earners earn far less than no-obese earners when all other criteria is the same).
Currently, Americans of the lowest income bracket have 5 times the obesity rate as the highest income earners because unhealthy food is cheaper and more available than healthy food. We are essentially “writing off” our poorest Americans. Shame on us. We have a nation of obese-malnourished people! Would we provide our own small child with a lollipop vs. a carrot stick because a lollipop is cheaper? – of course not. Then why is it okay to throw cheap, unhealthy food to our poorest Americans? Why is it that only rich people can afford organic lean meats and broccoli for dinner?
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Poor Tax
Jan 5. 2010 | Comments
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Isn't this essentially a tax on the poor?
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TAIPEI — Taiwan is planning the world's first tax on junk food in a bid to encourage the public to eat healthily and cut obesity rates, a report said Monday.
The Bureau of Health Promotion is drafting a bill to levy the special tax on food deemed unhealthy, such as sugary drinks, candy, cakes, fast food and alcohol, said the Apple Daily.
Revenue from the tax would finance groups promoting health awareness or subsidise the island's cash-strapped national health insurance programme, the report said.
The bill is expected to be submitted to the parliament for approval next year and could take effect around 2011, it said, citing the bureau's director Chiou Shu-ti.
Health officials contacted by AFP were not immediately available for comment.
Taiwan would be the first government in the world to impose junk food tax if the bill is passed, according to local health advocacy group John Tung Foundation.
"Overweight problems are getting worse in Taiwan with 25 to 30 percent of children...
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The best way to do this is to tax the raw ingredients at the wholesale level and those costs would affect retail. So food coloring/taste additives/chemicals/hydrogenated oils - anything, or any process, added to raw and fresh foods to make them taste better/different/increase shelf life/etc. and at the same time decrease nutritional values (i.e. - sugar: raw perhaps but bad for you) are TAXED. The FDA would have to decide what ingredient or process constitutes taxation and economists would have to decide what % tax to charge in order to pay for fresh food subsidies and healthcare. Year to year those %'s would change based on the overall health of our nation, how much consumers change their purchasing habits, etc. My gut says taxes would have to be high initially and that the cost of food would decrease over time due to the overall health of our nation increasing, but an aging population might negate that.
And then what to do with all of the insurance companies if everyone has the...
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