Old Content (Nanny State)

"Doctors will this week declare war on America's soft drinks industry by calling for a 'fat tax' to combat the nation's obesity epidemic. Delegates at the powerful American Medical Association's annual conference will demand a levy on the sweeteners put in sugary drinks to pay for a massive public health education campaign. They will also call for the amount of salt added to burgers and processed foods to be halved."I hardly see how what I eat is the government's business. Yes, people have grown obese by eating too many Big Macs or drinking sodas from the local gas station that offers cups so big that you can fall in and dround. Who's fault is that? YOUR OWN! You know darn well if something your eating is healthy or not. You do have the power to make the choice to eat in moderation and get a reasonable amount of excercise. (I say this as a teenager who is realizing he has lost his metabolism)

The other big problem I have with the health police is that they want to punish (through higher taxes) those who choose to eat fatty foods. If someone has a lifestyle problem that is unfortunate, but Government is not a parent. Adult, law abiding citizens in our society should not have their privacy violated by a bunch of busy-bodies. You have no right to take more of our hard-earned money for your never-ending quest to socially engineer and perfect society. You also have no right to force fast food restaurants to change their formulas. The cost of doing so may not be significant relative to their total profit, but any monetary loss that accumulates that would not have in the natural market is theft as far as I'm concerned. The free-market is already dealing with the problem, as many are offering healthy alternatives at little extra cost.

The most persuasive part of this piece is the argument about health-care costs. More operations = higher costs for all. Where does Government look to when it has budget shortfalls? Ciggarettes and alchohol of course. Doing this does not deter a significant amount of the population from smoking and drinking, and not to mention runs up costs on the poor. Taxes on food will do the same thing. The minor savings on health insurance premiums are not worth the cost in taxes, the cost in liberty, and the cost in American values.

H/T Drudge (lost link)