David Patterson, the man who has a job because New York Governors can’t seem to keep it in their pants, Patterson included, announced this week that we should implement an obesity tax.
I’m sure that Governor Patterson thinks this is a bold, aggressive idea that will save the next generation from being fat. But in reality, this is just another way to tax the poverty stricken people who have already taken such a huge hit this year.
Patterson points out facts like a child that consumes a soda every day is 60% more likely to become obese. I don’t think anyone finds that stat as shocking as he would like. We know that soda is bad for us. He also likes to point out that the surgeon general believes that obesity played a contributing factor to 112,000 deaths every year in the U.S. I’m surprised that it’s that low.
New York has done some very innovative things to help make New Yorkers healthy. Most of this great work has been done under the watch of Dr. Thomas Frieden, the New York Commissioner of Health since 2002. His philosophy on preventative health has done for the health problem of New York what Broken Windows theory has done for crime.
It’s been great to see action like banning trans fats, giving away free condoms, and even imposing a cigarette tax. But at some point we have to look at the freedom of choice in this country.
No one really wanted their foods cooked in transfat. People having casual sex should use condoms. And they are so cheap, there is nothing wrong with providing them for free if that helps prevent the spread of things like HIV. And I don’t even have a problem with taxing cigarettes. It’s so known that cigarettes are harmful to everyone around them, we even have poison labels on them.
But last time I checked, I didn’t see any poison labels on soda. As unhealthy as it may be, it’s still a popular, refreshing drink that most people enjoy. So when Governor Patterson says he wants to tax soda, he just means that he wants to collect more taxes from everyone, and then get credit for being some sort of health crusader.
What Governor Patterson actually is, is another tax crazy Democrat that wants government to tell people how to live. He is the exact legacy issue of liberals that cause those of us with a brain to shiver. We cannot just tax food we think is unhealthy now.
And just to be clear, since I don’t think the Governor understands this, companies don’t pay taxes, they just collect them from us. So this utopian dream he has about the companies wanting to make healthy food because of taxation is a pure fantasy on his part.
Is it also Governor Patteron’s plan to tax beer? Where will things end? What about taxing sugar when you buy it at the grocery store? Or how about those Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies? Where would this end?
I would suggest that the Governor start worrying about the people of New York who are malnourished and homeless. Let everyone else worry about their own diet.
Wow! That wouldn’t help anyone, it would just make them more miserable and probably send them even further into obesity. He couldn’t come up with anything else to tax? This is an absurd idea this guy needs to be thrown out of office too for being ridiculous.
I actually do think they should tax the Mint Girl Scout Cookies because then maybe I wouldn’t want to buy them all the time. hehe