One of the big controversies in this argument is who decides what foods are considered healthy and which foods will fall under the tax. Does this responsibility go to the legislators, to the nutritionist experts, or does it go to the people who are consuming these foods? The legislators create these bills to be implemented, but do they have the knowledge to know what nutrients the body needs on a daily or weekly basis? How much fat needs to be in a food for it to be put under the fat tax? So far, implementing real life fat taxes has been a lot of trial and error. There have been very few fat taxes implemented in the world, and many have been unsuccessful. An example from Denmark shows how fat taxes fail as a result of improper administration. Denmark initiated the world’s first fat tax, and it has been used for the precedence of many studies. Their tax had an applied surcharge to foods containing 2.3 percent or more of saturated fat (Good Morning America 1). The tax was 16 kroner per kilogram or $2.90 per 2.2 pounds (Good Morning America 1). Even the final proposal for the Denmark fat tax was flawed because people believed the taxes on meat did not match up to the quality of meat …show more content…
It led to loss of jobs for many Danish people and it also increased the administrative costs for companies that fell under the tax (Vallgårda, Holm, and Jensen 224). The fat tax even led some native Danish people to run across the border to neighboring countries to get their favorite fattening foods at a lower cost than in Denmark (Khazan 2). These trips across the border led local businesses to go under because of lack of business (Vallgårda, Holm, and Jensen 225). So, although a fat tax would gain revenue for possible programs on eating healthier, it would increase unemployment and economic failures. The fat tax would harm future businesses leading many manufacturers to avoid dealing with the tax
While nobody denies we have a problem with taxation in this country for food, beverages, and everything that we buy in general, I believe that we should have a fat tax to detour people from buying soda and other fattening foods. We should also ban sodas and other fattening foods from vending machines in schools, and replace them with more healthy selections.
Drenkard, S. (2010). Overreaching on Obesity: Governments Consider New Taxes on Soda and Candy. Retrieved from http://heartland.org
The U.S. along with only 6 other countries use the progressive tax, the progressive tax is a very unfair and inconsistent taxing system.This system has a varying rate that taxes the higher income homes with a higher rate,and the lower with a reduced rate.The Flat tax is a taxing system that has one flat tax rate for all ranges of income homes. The flat tax has been proposed multiple times throughout legislation , but not once has it been taken seriously as a cure to fix the current tax problems.The U.S. needs to adopt the Flat Tax because it is a simplistic system that would be fair to use and also promote economic growth.
It is sad. People from all races and backgrounds are obese. In a recent survey done at Henry Ford College, 43 percent of students were overweight. Whether it is because they do not follow a healthy diet or they inherited it from their parents. Being overweight is correlated with lacking exercise or physical activity and not watching what is on the plate. Obesity can cause many illnesses, including diabetes, which is very common. As the debate whether soda tax should take effect arises, critics say that the tax will help those with obesity-related illnesses. What about exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle? These two factors cannot be forgotten knowing they are the most important. Americans have consumed 12 percent of soda and become less active since 1970. A soda tax aims to stop consumers from buying soda to help those who are obese. This will not be effective. Therefore a soda tax will not be good public policy.
Balko’s use of informative statistics makes the reader think about government’s role with obesity, and how much they should to do with it being solved. For example, President Bush put $200 million into his budget for anti-obesity measures, and some Senators, including Joe Lieberman, made the call for a “fat-tax” on high calorie foods. Although it appears these politicians and government officials are all trying to help society and this growing problem in America, many would agree they are just hurting the cause. I remember when I
The government plays an important part in our safety, but many people think they take it too far. Recently, people have thought more and more about how much involvement the government should have when it comes to food regulations. Some people think the government's involvement in regulating food would greatly help obesity rates, and others think the country's obesity rates would show little to no improvement. Although no one cause of obesity exists, and no government regulations will likely alter someone’s lifestyle choices, the government should implement some regulations by implementing programs to educate and encourage citizens to lead a healthier life and by requiring companies to list a full disclosure of ingredients on their products.
Whether the government should impose a tax on employers to provide workers with benefits such as unemployment insurance or mandate employers to provide workers with benefits, which are normally benefits such as health insurance or workers compensation will ultimately depend on how much their employees value the benefit. Mandated benefits are those benefits that are protected by federal law. Firms are liable to make these benefits available to their employees and failure to do so will result in severe penalties. Payroll tax is relatively different from mandated benefits for the reason that payroll taxes are imposed on the wage of employees, which are either paid by the workers or the firm. When analyzing to see how successful a mandated
In the UK as well as in other developed countries, obesity is becoming a growing problem this puts pressure on health services and affects individuals’ ability to work, and contribute to the economy. The government feels the pressure to act by taxing unhealthy foods and drinks, and by setting up educational campaigns, (Stephen Adams, 2011).
Nutrition is the process of obtaining and consuming the right nutrients you need in order to grow and survive. These nutrients consist of water, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, and fats. What you choose to eat has a significant impact on your well being, growth and overall health. Bad nutrition can lead to lifelong consequences such as Diabetes, High blood pressure, Obesity, Cardiovascular disease and even some Cancers. A healthy diet helps people manage a desirable body weight and composition that allows them to do their daily mental and physical activities (Youdim 1). If you eat the correct meals it provides energy and even helps boost your immune system. There are many examinations available to you to check if you’re on the
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it." This is one of Mitt Romneys famous quotes. The scary part about this quote is that he is right. About half of our country is dependent upon government assistance, and some are passing this way of life on to their many children. This is the main problem, if the future generations begin to think this is a good way of life our government will crash, again. Government assistance is a problem due to the fact that; there is no incentive to work, people get handed money with no enforced restrictions, and there is no constant supervision for people, “needing” this assistance.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity now ranks as the 10th most important health problem in the world (“Obesity Seen as a Global Problem”). Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Centers for Disease Control and Protection estimates that obesity contributed to the deaths of 112,000 Americans in 2000 (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). It is estimated that annual medical care cost of obesity are as high as $147 billion (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). Government-provided food stamps are often expended on junk or fast food, because it tends to be less expensive than fresh or cook food. Governments fund producers of meat and dairy products to keep prices low. For now, governments are taking a smarter and more productive approach through regulation, and by working with manufacturers.
Child obesity is at its highest in the United States. With fast food restaurants spreading, new food products being produced, and health rates hiking in children between ages of 3-13, children are at a higher risk of reaching obesity. Nutrients are very important for children to contain in their body due to the fact they are growing regularly. Without the specific vitamins and minerals needed in the body, lack of physical activity, and false parental guidance, children are in jeopardy of becoming overweight. Should parents be responsible for this issue? Parents are accountable for their children’s health, because as their child grows, it is a parent’s job to supply correct and healthy resources to their children.
In America over 300,000 people are obese and that number continues to grow because the about of junk food that is being consumed. This cost the economy one hundred billion dollars. That more damage done than smoking or drinking. (Crowley, Michael 5) There are other health problems, such as heart diseases, chronic diseases, and type-two diabetes that occur because of junk food. Increasing the price of junk food, by adding tax, researchers hope that this will prod people to reject unhealthy foods. Taxes will also encourage a healthier lifestyle, even in low-income families (Franck, Caroline 2).
Junk food has been proven to be unhealthy long time ago. Junk food started to grow more and more recently and spread fast all over the world. Junk food reveals any food with high calories and low nutritional value. A big problem with junk foods is that satiation value of them is low, that means people need to eat a large amount of that unhealthy foods to feel full. So it is like eating a lot of poisons for a long time, what do you think the result will be on the health condition of the humans? Another problem of junk foods tend to replace other healthy foods; people who drink a lot of soda there is no room for healthy natural fruit juice in their stomach, people who are snacking on cookies, they’re not eating fruits and healthy vegetables (WebMD
Over the course of the last few decades, the U.S. has seen a drastic rise in the spread of obesity. Through the rise of large-scale fast food corporations, the blame has shifted toward the mass consumerism of these global industries. It is, however, due to poor lifestyle choices that the U.S. population has seen a significant increase in the percentage of people afflicted with obesity. In 1990 the percentage of obese people in the United States was approximated at around 15%. In 2010, however, it is said that “36 states had obesity rates of 25 percent or higher”(Millar). These rates have stayed consistent since 2003. The obesity problem in America is