Fat chance: How about taxing laziness to fight obesity?
On Apr 14, 9:02*pm, I Jah Rastafari wrote:
Fat chance: How about taxing laziness to fight obesity?
Sunday, April 12th 2009, 4:00 AM
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Today's Other Editorials:
ARTICLES
Board of Elections pays ridiculous rent in party patronage ploy
No doubt soda and other sugary drinks contribute to obesity. And no
doubt people would cut down if government slapped a big tax on the
beverages. But the idea is as flat as a week-old glass of Coke
.
Gov. Paterson floated the notion of an anti-obesity soda levy, then
dropped it. Now, city Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden has co-
authored a New England Journal of Medicine article touting the
prospect.
The piece concedes no one knows whether former soda drinkers would
switch to a less caloric intake. What it doesn't say is that, unlike
taxing cigarettes, the levy would hit both the obese and all the soda
drinkers who aren't.
Everyone would pay to improve the behavior of some. Better to aim a
tax right at those who should bear it. Here's an idea: a New York
Couch Potato Income Tax Surcharge. You'd have to pay if you could not
prove - through worn-out running shoes, torn ligaments or gym
videotapes
How about taxing stupidity, you could be first. jenius
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