Posted on 03/09/2010 11:56:15 AM PST by Kaslin
Washington continues to focus on health care, but more recently some prominent political figures have narrowed in on the health-care issue of obesity. While it may seem like the topic du jour, obesity has long been a national obsession. Weight-loss reality shows are hit programs on network and cable television. Trashy pop culture rags regularly feature pictures of pin thin actresses on their covers accompanying the hurtful headline “packing on the pounds.” Numerous infomercials tout miracle exercise routines and equipment and diet products crowd grocery store shelves, proving that Americans are already plenty concerned about fat. Now Washington is embracing the anti-fat obsession. Unfortunately, the solutions politicians are pushing are no more likely to work than are the diet pills sold on the back pages of magazines. Instead of shrinking waistlines, these efforts are more likely to shrink Americans’ wallets and grow government.
If a policy issue could win the lotto, obesity just hit the jackpot. Named as a premier issue for the First Lady, it has risen to near the very top of the President’s agenda. Pretty impressive when it’s competing against the big boys like oh, you know…war, massive history-making levels of unemployment, wacky dictators with loose nukes, and continuing threats of terrorism. But that’s ok. How will we fight the enemy and get back to work if we’re all too fat to fit though the door frame? Priorities people…first things first!
Why is it necessary to designate a special group of people to force this task? Isn’t there a really big building in the middle of Washington, DC with something like 64,000 employees and a budget of over $700 billion dedicated to health issues? Yes, there is! And it’s called the Department of Health and Human Services. Heck…the word “health” is even in the department’s title.
Someone tell the President!
And that’s not all. There’s another medical official within the federal government dedicated to advising the President on health issues—the Surgeon General, who according to the office’s website, “serves as America's Doctor by providing Americans the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury.”
Hmmm….seems to me that childhood obesity might fit perfectly under the purview of that office. And you know what? The Surgeon General agrees. In fact, the current Surgeon General, Regina M. Benjamin, lists childhood obesity prominently on her website and offers tips to parents on how to improve a child’s health and eating habits.
But fine…ignore these qualified officials. Go ahead and set up a little task force to do what maybe a handful of those 64,000 employees at HHS or the Surgeon General’s office could easily do. After all, Washington loves a task force.
So, what exactly will this obesity task force do? What “recommendations” will it dream up and how much will it cost the average family? Drawing from the First Lady’s own comments on the issue, the recommendations will likely target a favorite food bogey-man—sugary drinks and unhealthy foods. Hiking the price of these foods, through sin taxes, is a solution the first lady believes might just work.
Sin taxes are a Washington favorite because they raise revenue but are popular with Democrats and forgivable with Republicans. The arguments for using them can be compelling--shouldn’t we tax smokers for creating higher health-care costs? Won't taxing sugary drinks and fatty foods encourage people to consume less and become healthier? But the fact is, sin taxes only succeed in one area--driving up the cost of food and other products and hurting the average consumer.
Take for instance taxes on sodas. This year, New York Governor David Paterson proposed a penny-an-ounce tax on soda in his state budget. This would amount to a 12 cent hike in the price of every soda and increase the cost of a 12-pack of soda from $2.99 to $5.87. The proposal also included a $38 tax on large bags of syrup sold to restaurants. For families on a strict budget and restaurants already dealing with a diminished customer base, that’s a significant increase. Not to mention, that we can all say a big goodbye to those popular free refills! But Governor Paterson’s proposal is relatively low compared to the taxes for which other politicians have called. Just this week, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter proposed a 2 cent per 12-ounce beverage tax, which is just outmatched by Chicago’s current sugary drink tax of 3 cents.
Unfortunately, the data suggests that these taxes aren't succeeding in driving down American’s weight. Of the top ten fattest states in the Union, three--West Virginia, Tennessee and Arkansas—currently tax sodas and sugary drinks.
Some who are concerned about obesity may nod their heads and applaud measures that try to discourage soda consumption. They should ask themselves where the next sin tax will be imposed? Will juice drinks (which in many cases contain more sugar than sodas), energy drinks, coffee, wine or full-fat milk become the next target? What about chips and crackers and cookies and sugar cereals? Who is supposed to determine what is and isn’t healthy? How much higher can we drive food costs for families already struggling to make ends meet?
Americans' preoccupation with weight will continue as will Washington’s habit of meddling in very personal issues. Because Washington loves to meddle…almost as much as they like a task force.
Hey, I resemble that remark!
In addition to this we will get the standard "fat tax" added to our mandatory healthcare insurance premiums. The airlines will charge us double for seating. Fast food joints will be fined for serving overweight people.
There are dozens of new programs that are designed by the government to help the fat citizen kick the food habit. Government is good. Government is our friend. Trust the government.
I can see how taxing alcohol discourages drinking. What a bald farce. It is just another government tentacle creeping in and sucking the life out us.
99% of fat people always drink diet Coke. They don’t drink the “sugary” Coke. I've noticed that, too. I think that when a person drinks an artificially sweetened drink, the body feels cheated, it demands satisfaction so it causes its owner to have few snacks when no one is looking.
I have never drank diet drinks and I don't consume anything that is labeled "Fat Free", "Heath Choice","Lite Beer" "Reduced Salt", "Reduced Fat", or "Fat Free." When I want a double cheeseburger, a banana split, a rack of barbecued ribs or a gigantic country breakfast I help myself. My advice would be keep away from the TV set, the refrigerator, the pantry, the wii and do something that burns calories. Never eat when you are not hungry or eat just to be eating. Live long and prosper.
Two of my close friends in high school, who had weight problems, would always order diet coke with their 2-3 slices of pizza. The thinking was they were saving the 120 calories from the Coke and could therefore indulge.
I always ordered one slice and one regular Coke. That was enough for me.
Michelle Obama’s Tips from the White House for Battling Childhood Obesity
1)Have your personal chef limit your child’s consumption of fatty foods like Foie Gras and Wagyu Beef.
2)Have your kids run, not walk, to the helicopter.
3)Keep an eye on your kids to make sure they’re not sneaking hors d’oeuvres during your weekly cocktail parties.
4)Just because your kids take a SUV to school everyday doesn’t mean they have to be dropped off at the door - have your personal security clear out a one block walking distance and drop them off there.
5)A good swingset costs $4,000, but that should be easily within the reach of any government employee in 2010.
6)Have your kids help you plant healthy vegetables like hop asparagus, arugula, and truffles in your garden.
7)Instead of simply lighting a match, have your kids rub two sticks together to burn the American flag.
8)Purchasing a larger size “Che” shirt will make them feel skinnier and encourage exercise.
9)Get pregnant. On the eighth month abort the child for an instant twenty pound weight loss.
10)Have them run laps in your private plane as you jet off on vacation.
“Code Red” - House Target List on Health Care
The National Republican Congressional Committee has published a target list on health care. In addition to continuing to contact the five Tennessee Democrat Congressmen, you can go http://www.votervoice.net/link/clickthrough/ext/94697.aspx to contact some of these targets. Much of the talk following Obama’s announcement has focused on how to defeat this second bill through reconciliation, but that is misleading because the first step to defeating Obamacare is not by concentrating on defeating the “fixer” bill but by defeating the Senate bill in the House when it goes to the floor for an up-or-down vote on Thursday, March 18th.
Rep. Lincoln Davis 202-225-6831 Columbia office: 931-490-8699
Rep. Jim Cooper 202-225-4311 Nashville office: 615-736-5295
Rep. Bart Gordon 202-225-4231 Murfreesboro office: 615-896-1986
Rep. John S. Tanner 202-225-4714 Jackson office: 731-423-4848
Rep. Steve Cohen 202-225-3265 Memphis office: 901-544-4131
.....................................................
Defeat Obamacare call list: Courtsey of TN Eagle Forum: List now contains the new MAYBES culled from FR posts.
PLEASE CALL! DC OFFICE LOCAL OFFICE State District
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411 AZ 5th District
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588 AZ 8th District
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914 AZ 1st District
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 925-833-0643 CA 11th District
John Salazar 202-225-4761 970-245-7107 CO 3rd District
Jim Himes (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028 CT 4th District
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757 FL 8th District
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 630-406-1114 IL 14th District
Baron Hill 202 225 5315 812 288 3999 IN 9th District
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075 MI 7th District
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227 MI 9th District
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 702-256-DINA (3462) NV 3rd District
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813 NH 1st District
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3826 (631) 696-6500 NY 1st District
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371 NY 19th District
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150 NY 23rd District
Mike Arcuri (202)225-3665 (315)793-8146 NY 24th District
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657 NY 25th District
Earl Pomeroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355 ND At-Large District
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723 OH 1st District
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196 OH 15th District
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300 OH 18th District
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038 PA 3rd District
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963 PA 8th District
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988 PA 10th District
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200 PA 11th District
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803)327-1114 SC 5th District
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291 VA 5th District
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422 WVA 1st District
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000 WVA 3rd District
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954 WI 8th District
Bart Gordon (202) 225-4231 TN (MAYBE)
Bart Stupak (202) 225 4735 MI (MAYBE)
Brian Baird (202) 225-3536, Vancouver, (360) 695-6292. Olympia, (360) 352-9768, (MAYBE)
senator mark begich (202) 224-3004 toll free. (877) 501 - 6275 just became a MAYBE
John Tanner (202) 225-4714, Union City, (731) 885-7070, Jackson Phone: (731) 423-4848, Millington (901) 873-5690 TN (MAYBE)
Jason Altmire 202-225-2565, Aliquippa, 724-378-0928, Natrona Heights, 724-226-1304 (MAYBE)
On the Bubble (Major developments from the “yes” and “no” columns in the House)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2467046/posts
Talk about some oxymorons.
Lite Beer
Fat Free Ice Cream
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.