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If mandatory health care is repealed (which will be impossible with Obama in the White House), then taxing fatness would be wrong because the free market will take care of it.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.
My point was that you can’t stop at fat people if you are going to jump on board the Obamacare wagon.