Should there be Fat Tax?

[XabbaRus]

Last night there was a programme on TV in which the presenter suggested that fat people should be taxed.

Fact: Obesity costs the NHS £1 billion a year and the UK economy £2.5 billion in lost work. So to claw back the £3.5 billion he suggested a tax and various ways of going about it.

So considering the costs and the fact that most people are fat because they eat too much and exercise too little should there be a tax?

[CB..]

ohh OHH........dan dan danger will robinson...politicaly correct culture really does like to have it's scapegoats doesn't it...that's the problem with political correctness--it's very political and not very correct--allways looking for new targets to exploit--

[TteFAboB]

Yes, XabbaRus, yes, take a look at the apple, isn't the color beautifull? Isn't it the most wonderfull shade of red you've ever seen? Now take a bite, xabby, taste it.

No, because there is no need to increase the size and power of the British government.

No, because people will lie and present false diagnostics attesting they are fat because they suffer from a disease, hence, they can do nothing about it, hence, they must not pay the tax.

No, because it will not teach the good behavior. If anything, healthy people should be given a tax exemption.

And finally no, because the state should not dictate what life-style and weight one wants to have.

I know dozens of fat, not morbid obese, but fat people nonetheless, who have no problem being slightly overweight, who have no diseases or problems because of their beer belly, who do not like to exercise and actually like to eat high calorie meals.

Who the hell are you to tell them what to eat, what to drink, what weight to have and what and how much exercise to do?

Privatize the NHS if that's the problem. In this regard, the colapse of the Italian health system is an advantage afterall, creative destruction at its finest, the system is now partially privatized in the sense it is no longer fully supported by the state finances and fully price free anymore.

[August]

No, because obese people tend to die earlier thus saving the state gobs of retirement money.

So to all you fat people out there, have another whopper, with extra large fries. I want my SS to be there when i get old.

[STEED]

Drug addicts and alcoholics cost the N.H.S even more money. Don't forget the Pensioners along with the long term sick. Sorry no I don't agree and why? Because managers are the biggest waste of money in the N.H.S they are so incompetent and live in day dream world. We all pay National Insurance in the U.K. the reason why the N.H.S is a mess for the last 30 years money allocated to them by the Conservative and Labour Governments has been a joke.

And as for our current Labour Government, coming out with all this crap about big money going in to the N.H.S and what a great job it's doing, what a crass remark. Hospitals are closing down and the whole N.H.S is in the red and why? Because of red tape and bureaucratic procedures resulting in millions of pounds wasted on hospital managers, who don't know their ar*e from their elbow.

[Oberon]

We've been here before people:



The poster reads (excuse my bad German):

This person suffering from hereditary defects cost the people 60,000 Reichmarks during his lifetime. People that is your money. Read 'New People'

It's one step on a slippery slope...

[STEED]

Originally Posted by Oberon

We've been here before people:



The poster reads (excuse my bad German):

It's one step on a slippery slope...

The T4 Programme carried out by Nazi doctor's. You have been warned.

[scandium]

Originally Posted by XabbaRus

Last night there was a programme on TV in which the presenter sugessted that fat people should be taxed.

Fact Obesity costs the NHS £1 billion a year adn teh UK economy £2.5 billion in lost work. So to claw back the £3.5 billion he suggested a tax and various ways of going about it.

So considering the costs and the fact that most people are fat because they eat too much and exercise too little should there be a tax?

Fat tax eh? :hmm: Not a novel idea but strikes me as something that would be both difficult to properly implement and possibly even counter-productive (may be so expensive to implement that the revenue obtained is insignificant, while at the same time doing nothing to impact the problem of obesity).

[CB..]

like i was saying a post ironic and politicaly correct culture is a precursor to fascism and worse---they're using the same propoganda messages allready--and not one single political voice has been raised in opposition--
fat people can allready be denied medical care on the ground that they are over weight--

you see that's the problem with political correctness-- politics change--and thus so does the correctness--and bingo anythings possible with enough propoganda

[STEED]

DR IAN WILSON British Medical Association's Consultants' Committee

The debt could be wiped out almost overnight if the government would listen to those that work in the service


"We have to recognise that a lot of money has gone into the health service, and a lot has improved.
"But even more money has been wasted. We are talking about billions and billions of pounds being wasted on management consultancy fees, and on failed attempts to bring in computer systems.

Well I am not surprised.

[Skybird]

Educating people on the facts of bad food maybe is the better idea. And the best, without doubt, is to simply stop the industry to produce Food that often would be better described as poison that produces it's effect over long time. Almost all kind of fast food, softdrinks, most of designer food, most types of oils and fats that are used in food production, certain types of carbohydrates (those that are highly "glykämisch"). With regard to the accumulation of fats, and spiking and later deficitary insulin-production the deciding thing is not how much one eats, but WHAT one eats. The problem results from totally stupid eating habits. therefor it is more present in social classes with low education level. But by tendency it is raising in all social classes.

[CB..]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Educating people on the facts of bad food maybe is the better idea. And the best, without doubt, is to simply stop the industry to produce Food that often would be better described as poison that produces it's effect over long time. Almost all kind of fast food, softdrinks, most of designer food, most types of oils and fats that are used in food production, certain types of carbohydrates (those that are highly "glykämisch"). With regard to the accumulation of fats, and spiking and later deficitary insulin-production the deciding thing is not how much one eats, but WHAT one eats. The problem results from totally stupid eating habits. therefor it is more present in social classes with low education level. But by tendency it is raising in all social classes.

they couldn't have planed this better --
introduce junk food and fizzy drinks to the school canteens wait a couple of generations--woopeee a whole caboodle of nice fat people we can then blame all of society's problems on--- the junk food companys make a fortune the schools save a fortune, and all the "shiny happy people" get some one to blame for all their petty insecuritys- such as discovering that being thin doesn't make you happy--mean while back at the meat factory---thousands upon thousand of over weight kids get depressed because they are contantly portrayed in the media as stereo types and now the government has joined the fun---
now we can give them anti-depressants too--that'll work..

all for the benifit of protecting the interests of big buisness--who need generations of poorly educated people with low self esteem to buy into their mass produced life-style products

heer we are right on the cusp -as it were- of mass population manipulation via genetic screening ,cloning and the rest of that mad-ness and we are so wise so clever (that post ironic state of mind) that we fail to see the in evitable end result--

best case scenario in 100 years is some thing along the lines of the film Gattica--
i can't be bothered thinking of the worse case scenario as im far too depressed allready lol--
NURSE!!!!

[Kapitan]

If you look at nearly all my brothers you immediately think they are fat, most wiegh in top end of 18 19 stone some just over the 20 stone mark, but infact not alot of it is fat most of them are fighters or do some heavy lifting job.

My father is 19 stone and has a big belly but he isnt fat infact he has only about 18% fat on him.

My stepdad on the other hand is fat at 24 stone its due to alcohol and excessive eating but thats him.

just cause a person has a large belly doesnt automaticaly mean they are fat, what about sumo wrestlers ?

[August]

Originally Posted by Kapitan

If you look at nearly all my brothers you immediately think they are fat, most wiegh in top end of 18 19 stone some just over the 20 stone mark, but infact not alot of it is fat most of them are fighters or do some heavy lifting job.

My father is 19 stone and has a big belly but he isnt fat infact he has only about 18% fat on him.

My stepdad on the other hand is fat at 24 stone its due to alcohol and excessive eating but thats him.

just cause a person has a large belly doesnt automaticaly mean they are fat, what about sumo wrestlers ?

From what i hear mens potbellies are often the result of stress.

[Kapitan]

Well if i punch my dads stomach the hardest i can it doesnt affect him if he tenses he has alot of muscle in there because of his job heavy plant engineer, yeah he has sufferd from stress too going through alot now.

Im the smallest member of my family bar the girls i wiegh in at only 201lbs, and im not fat