Posted on 07/29/2009 5:16:17 AM PDT by shortstop
I told you so.
Years ago I said the next target was food.
In its tireless quest for power and money – done in the name of protecting you – the government has gobbled ever-larger chunks of the economy.
Tobacco, health care, communication, energy, banking, the automotive industry.
And now food.
A national soda-pop tax has been proposed, the Urban Institute wants to go after food producers and family budgets the way it went after tobacco companies and smokers, and food is about to be called a hazard to your health.
Ostensibly, because you’re fat.
Actually, because the government wants your money.
The one habit people can’t give up is eating. The one portion of the economy that truly controls the people is the food supply. In the past the government sought to protect it, now it wants to conquer it.
More correctly, now the government wants to conquer you.
And it will do so in the guise of protecting you.
As you may have noticed, Americans are fat. Some two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. It is a national shame. And it is a threat to our health.
But it is also a threat to our freedom.
Because when the activists point to the supposed $200 billion in annual health-care costs blamed on people being overweight, they are really just building a case to take away from you the ability to decide – or afford – what’s for dinner.
This is in the news because, in addition to the soda-pop tax, the Urban Institute has a new study out that calls for dramatic taxes on “unhealthy” foods.
Before we try to figure out what “unhealthy” is, let’s figure out what the Urban Institute is. Basically, it’s the government. It was founded by the government and is funded by the government – 62 percent of its budget comes from the feds – and since the days when Lyndon Johnson got it rolling, it has been a steady apologist for and advocate of socialist, big-government programs.
And it says food should be treated like tobacco. Producers should be taxed or sued into massive revenue-sharing agreements, and consumers should be heavily taxed.
The theory is that people who produce or eat food are bad, that they are the cause of the obesity epidemic and they must be forced to pay. The problem is that they are us. While a minority of people smoke, a majority of people eat.
And that’s a good thing.
So is the system of producer, processor and distributor that takes the tiniest fraction of our population and from its agricultural productivity feeds not only our country but also millions of foreigners. Astoundingly, we are being trained in this society to bite the hand that feeds us, to resent the farmer as a polluter and barbarian, somehow cruel to both the environment and livestock.
We have been taught phrases of contempt – like “factory farm” and “big agra” – and the prejudice against our food supply is palpable. We have been conned into hating something we don’t know the first thing about. Large processing companies – that feed countless people here and abroad – are not thanked for their efficiency and productivity, but are castigated and condemned.Then there are the folks who eat.
In the thinking of this report and its supporters, the free-will choices of Americans on something as elemental as what they eat or drink should be done away with. In order to get Americans to eat what and how much the all-powerful activists want them to eat, high taxes on “fattening” foods are being pushed.
The problem – beyond the tyranny – is that there is no such thing as a “fattening” food. It doesn’t really matter what you eat, it matters how much you eat and how much you exercise.
All food contains calories – little units of energy. In partnership with your level of physical activity, the number of calories your body takes in determines whether or not you gain weight. Twinkies are fine, depending on how many you eat. Fruit can be loaded with calories and an all-fruit diet – involving being idle and eating to excess – can make you just as fat as anything else.
If soda pop is bad for you, what about ice cream? Or chocolate? Or beef? Or cheese? Or eggs? Or pancakes and syrup? Or whole-wheat bread? Every one of those things has the innate capacity to contain at least as many calories as soda pop.
So where does the taxing start?
That question can’t be answered.
So the objective becomes: Making sure this tax never starts.
The groundwork now being laid for this government raid on the food industry and on our family grocery budgets must be pounded back into the hole it dripped out of. Activists talk about the cost of obesity and how this money could fund health-care reform and how people need to be protected from themselves. They feel empowered by the current regime in Washington.
But they must not be allowed to take control of the food supply. They are about to try a money and power grab, and in so doing will interfere with our ability to feed our children.
And that’s not a matter of convenience or philosophy, it is a matter of survival.
I told you so.
They’re coming after food.
And we’ve got to stop them in their tracks.
Why is anyone in America surprised? We've elected a Democrat Congress and a Democrat President. They are doing what they do best--tax.
Like the old joke says...We've already figured out what we are, now we're just haggling over the details.
They are doing what they do best—tax and remove your freedom.
Booze is already taxed, its just well hidden.
I take issue with this for a simple reason: for years now the AMA (or whatever gov't health agency) has been changing the definitions of overweight and obesity, have been lowering the weight values to the point that you have to be a starving Somali in weight to be considered "healthy". People like Tom Cruise, Christian Bale, Heather Graham are technically considered "Obese". They may be many things, but "obese hardly qualifies.
And one other thing... does it bother many others when someone starts their article "I told you so.". It's like being lectured by a freaking grammer-schooler. I seldom read beyond those words.
They started going after "sugar" drinks in lieu of "low cal" drinks...and that was frowned on...so they switched to bottled water...."0" Calories...Make any sense to you??
OK, we need to post times Senators and CongressCritters are having TownHall meetings during the recess.
Paul Ryan was on Bennett this morning saying how critical it is to go to these meetings and make some noise.
Could we get a thread where FReepers can put times down (after we call for the times). I will call mine this morning (FL).
How about some tea parties at these “TownHall” meetings?
why hasn’t anyone suggested putting limits on what you can purchase with food stamp card? won’t pay for cokes or ho-ho’s, trans fat, etc....only fruits, veggies, organic this, organic that, tofu, etc.....there are a lot of fat people on assitance. If you want to deep fry your twinkies you pay for it.
I think it's more than just taxes that they want. They want to take over the US food industry, just the way they took over the auto industry. I think you're going to see serious attacks on fast food and coffee chains because they're profitable, but if they're demonized and regulated into the ground, they will lose business and become vulnerable to takeover by the government.
I also think Obama is aiming at the US agricultural industry. Bambi probably wants to see collective farms in the Central Valley.
I'm not joking, btw.
This is what tha majority of those who refer to themselves as Americans voted for.
The goal of Socialists is to control EVERY aspect of your life, and penalize freedom. They tout deviant sex life styles as "freedom", when, in fact, it is intended (the support of it) to destroy families, morals, and common sense decency. YOU will be controlled by the State, whether you like it/know it or not.
Let’s try out some of the slogans:
Food is a human right.
It is not fair that some eat so much when others don’t have enough to eat.
Food is too expensive.
American food production is inefficient, often producing the “wrong” kind of food at high cost.
Neah. What they do best is spend. Right now, they’re looking around for more ways to support that spending and NOTHING is off the table. Heck, I expect them to try taxing windows or something, next.
Food as a weapon - it worked in the Ukraine and the Sudan and in Zimbabwe, why not here?
I was behind a woman the other day who had two complete shopping carts filled with convenience foods—you know, the pre-packaged dinners, bottled fruit juices, etc..and she swiped that food stamp card and away she went...I think that there ought to be an absolute limit on what they can buy, more like WIC...only certain items are allowed. Staples, and ingredients for meals—but the pre-packaged foods are a much higher price per ounce...and we’re paying for it.
Well, they got us for breathing—CO2. Cap’n’trade—total nonsense.
Now they want to get us for eating.
And there is an excellent chance that Pelosi will pull an end run and try to get the disaster known as ObamaCare passed in the House by Friday night.
Pick up the phone today and let your reps know this has gone far enough. They remember who they SERVE or they lose their cushy job next year.
What we really need is a tax on Congressional stupidity. The deficit would disappear overnight.
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