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To: TNdandelion
The free market already "taxes" all the people you describe! Just look at insurance rates for guys under 25, especially if they are single. Likewise, up until recent changes in health care regulations, the free market did the same to pregnant women because they left the workforce and lost promotions, salary, and wages.

In a mandatory health care system where everyone is covered, which is where we are headed in 2014, fat people no longer cover the burden of being overweight, which includes higher cases of knee replacement, diabetes equipment, heart operations, and a checklist of other problems. Instead of paying for his or her choices, the current system allows a fat person to increase costs to the "system" and pass on his or her stupidity to everyone else.

That means a guy who does everything right, takes care of himself, saves his money, and is in great shape has to pay higher taxes to cover a mandatory medical system to pay for an idiot who is 300+ pounds overweight and made poor choices. That is the definition of socialism - when you take from one person who works to subsidize the stupidity and poor choices of another.

Normally, the free market takes care of it. If you have a mandatory health program, though, it screws with the system so you have one of two choices: Either

1.) appeal the health care system and let everyone survive on their own, or

2.) tax those who cost more, like an insurance company does to teenage males, and pass the savings on to those who cost less, like an insurance company does to 40 and 50 year old mothers who are far safer drivers than average.

If mandatory health care is repealed (which will be impossible with Obama in the White House), then taxing fatness would be wrong because the free market will take care of it. As long as it remains in place so there is no downside or disincentive to obesity because we are all picking up the tab, the only other choice is to tax it.

I have a problem paying for other people's choices. I have a right to smoke and drink myself to death but if I expect other people to cover the cost, it is theft. So ... either repeal health care or tax fat people. But if you keep demanding that responsible, hard working adults subsidize others who are foolish, stupid, or lazy, the rubber band will only stretch so far before there is a backlash.

65 posted on 07/23/2010 11:43:21 AM PDT by WallStreetCapitalist
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To: WallStreetCapitalist
P.S.: I should point out when I say, "pay for an idiot who is 300+ pounds" that several members of my family, some of whom are incredibly intelligent, qualify for this statement. I was using an example of someone who just refuses to work and eat little debbie's all day long. I'm not saying intelligence and weight are linked at all, so I apologize it reads that way; that was bad editing on my part so, yeah, epic fail there.
72 posted on 07/23/2010 12:09:46 PM PDT by WallStreetCapitalist
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To: WallStreetCapitalist

My point was that you can’t stop at fat people if you are going to jump on board the Obamacare wagon.


75 posted on 07/26/2010 1:10:26 AM PDT by TNdandelion
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