Should Products Which Contribute to Obesity (Such as Big Macs and Krispy Kreme Donuts) be Taxed?

In a Nutshell

Yes

No

  1. It helps discourage consumers from eating foods that aren't good for them.
  2. Health care costs of obesity are skyrocketing, and even non-obese people must share this cost burden.
  3. Additional revenue could be raised by the government to cover health care, medical research, and other items.
  1. People are personally responsible for their weight, not the products.
  2. How would you decide what items to tax? Virtually any products can make you obese if abused.
  3. A tax would punish successful businesses for providing products that people want.
  4. Obese people don't live as long as healthy people, so health care costs are front-loaded, whereas healthy people generate health care expenses over several more decades.
  5. The government already taxes income, alcohol, gasoline, sales, and about everything else in our lives.
  6. Additional taxes can lead to job cuts in the affected businesses and contribute a degradation of consumer purchasing power.

Related Links

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Let's hear it for a fat tax
Pros and cons of a fat tax
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Is anything missing? Is any of the material inaccurate? Please let me know.

Written by:
Joe Messerli
Page Last Updated:
08/11/2011