Brainless Bureaucrats: Governments “Solution” to the Obesity Epidemic

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“Was the government to prescribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls are now.” Thomas Jefferson realized in 1784 the absurdity of a government which controls the health and diet of its citizens, but to this day there are some who have yet to understand this. There are those who believe that it’s the government’s obligation to regulate the food that goes into its citizen’s stomachs in order to “protect” the citizens from themselves. But time and time again the biggest evidence to prove that government intervention into the field of health care is asinine has been provided by those who support it.
“On and after September 1st, 2009… candy is taxed at the State sales tax rate of 6.25%…soft drinks are taxed at the State sales tax rate of 6.25%.” On August 4th 2009 Governor Pat Quinn passed a massive sales tax increase in for the state of Illinois. This 10 page, 4200 word document overhauls the states sales tax laws, changing the rate from 1% to 6.25% for certain types of foods and beverages. The point of the law was not only to put another $31 Billion in the state coffers, but also to discourage the purchase of “harmful” foods. This 625% sales tax increase on candy and soft drinks is not only an unnecessary intrusion into the eating habits of Illinoisans; but also creates mass confusion for retailers. For instance, according to the law candy is defined as “a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruits, nuts or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of bars, drops, or pieces.” An example of “candy” using this definition as stated in John Stossel’s TV special Myths, Lies, and Complete Stupidity would be a Milk Chocolate Hersh...

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...ly are in the hands of the government. Our Founding Fathers knew of this great threat to freedom, so that’s why they spoke out against it. But a new breed of Progressives preach that government MUST control the diet and health of the people, because it’s for the “better” of the collective good. But a line must be drawn in the sand, and that line shall symbolize that the American people and the people of the world will no longer stand for governments which disregard the individual in the name of the collective good. Government shall not and will not be allowed to control it’s citizens, because if we stand back and DO allow this to happen “…we will awake to find that we have socialism [in America]… [and] one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children, what it once was like in America when men were free.”

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