Tax the Fat

[Mr Jason B]

I know this is about a tv program,but thought it would be better suited to general chat....

Did anyone see this program on More 4 last night?I thought it was excellent,and although a lot of it was slightly tongue in cheek I found myself agreeing with nearly everything the presenter was saying.

I was shocked at the amount of money severely obese people cost the governemt/us a year

TAX THE FAT

[Alan Westy]

Although I did not see the programme, I read the article on it and do think it is bit extreme to think of taxing the fat, however one thing that does annoy me is being charged excess baggage on a flight. Where weight is obviously of concern then surely price should come into it and the passenger and their luggage should be weighed together to determine any excess charge.

[Fluke]

Totally wrong imo, cherry picking at its worst, we see it in education and insurance a lot. Writing people off for not being perfect is not on.

I'm a non smoker and 12 stone/ 5 ' 8" btw

[Emulous]

Its not about being perfect its about taking pride, looking after yourself and living a healthy life.

Being obese is about being lazy and if poor health isnt motivation enough then maybe hitting them in the wallets will do something cause Im damn sure something needs to be done.

[Mindcrime]

So, you take more money off the obese which means they can't afford to buy fresh healthy food which in turn means they start to eat cheaper and less healthy pre-packaged meals which in turn makes them larger nice plan! Don't forget it tends to be the poorer end of the population scale that are obese so to make them poorer will just worsen their health and put an even greater strain on the health system.

[James Ferrier]

me and my girlfriend had a chat about this last night and both felt the programme was suitably unjustified.

why just tax the fat for the issues they cause, why not tax drug addicts, alcoholics, smokers, people with eating disorders, disabled people the list goes on and on, i'm not saying any of it's right or wrong, but i felt the programme was making an example of an easy target.

[Ethics Gradient]

Totally agree, we should put them in prison tbh - and anyone esle with deviant lifestyles that don't match our own. If they can't be fit and healthy then they deserve to be punished. Maybe we could clone Adolf Hitler and put him incharge to sort of these fat obsenities that are such a burden on our society - he sure new how to deal with 'different' people.



......... or maybe some of you posting here should have a SERIOUS think about exactly what you are saying !

Some people are born with genetic disorders or get diseases that mean they struggle with weight issues.
Some people don't want to live a rigid health regime lifestyle.
Some people are born with genes that mean they are perfectly health yet 7ft tall and 24st .... do you think we should charge them money ?

or is it purely an issue of lifestyle choice ? - well lets not accept peoples relegious holidays, or treat people with sports injuries, or anyone thats ever drunk alcohol.

Maybe we should all be perfect just like you, wouldn't the world be such a perfect place .............

[neilneil]

Why not just have a higher tax for the unhealthy foods?

Each product has to be submitted for an assessment before it goes on sale that determins the level of tax it will attract. Fresh fruit and veg starts at 0% and fast food burgers are say 20%.

-Neil

[Mr Cat]

Originally Posted by Alan Westy

Where weight is obviously of concern then surely price should come into it and the passenger and their luggage should be weighed together to determine any excess charge.

would be a bit embarrassing wouldn't you not think..??

[shodan]

Originally Posted by James Ferrier

me and my girlfriend had a chat about this last night and both felt the programme was suitably unjustified.

why just tax the fat for the issues they cause, why not tax drug addicts, alcoholics, smokers, people with eating disorders, disabled people the list goes on and on.

Absolutely right, we should be taxing them extra...

[shahedz]

Originally Posted by shodan

Absolutely right, we should be taxing them extra...

have you seen the TAX on cigarettes? they are taxed more, i think its ridiculous to tax obese people more, what next tax cancer sufferers more?

[Nick_UK]

Tax the fat ? I knew John Prescott would find a department for himself sooner or later

[Fluke]

This reminds me of a conversation I was having with my quite overweight sister in law who got all judgemental on smokers - saying that they shouldnt even be given jobs due to their disgusting habit (I'm an ex-smoker and she knows it). I then pointed out that pehaps fat people shouldnt be given jobs due to their disgusting sugar and fat addiction and how they are a burden on society.

She shut up then.

[Mr Cat]

they should tax unhealthy foods and stamp down on food companies who mislead consumers by packaging their food as healthy when it's now - especially when they say thing like 85% fat free (meaning it contains 15% fat!) and the amount of sugar in them too!!

even worse is shops like adsa (they seem to be the main culprit) as when they advertise offers on tv - it's always for the unhealthy processed sh*te...

[overkill]

Originally Posted by Neil Sumner

Why not just have a higher tax for the unhealthy foods?

Each product has to be submitted for an assessment before it goes on sale that determins the level of tax it will attract. Fresh fruit and veg starts at 0% and fast food burgers are say 20%.

-Neil

Sounds good Neil. One of the reasons people don't eat healthily is because quality fruit and veg is so expensive when compared to it's ready made, junk food equivalent.

I would love to eat fresh fruit and cook with fresh veg every day, but sadly my wallet disagrees! If you go on a diet you would think your food bill would go down, but every time we do it rockets. This is purely down to the fact you eat more fresh food (except Atkins).

EG, you broke the 'don't mention the small Austrian rule' - but you made a good point.