The federal government and individual state governments are
facing widespread budget falls for this fiscal year and the next.
It’s a pity spending less is not in the left-wing toolbox of
solutions. Instead, we face possible taxes on unhealthy foods
from the federal government as discussed this week at the Center
for Disease Control’s first ever Weight of the Nation
conference.
The conference’s stated
goals include exploring “law-based efforts to prevent and
control obesity” and published a report recommending policy be
put in place to eliminate unhealthy food choices, to force
portion sizes to be reduced, to set lower prices for healthier
foods in public venues, and to implement stricter advertising
control.
The suggested means in which to equalize prices between “health”
and “unhealthy” food and to provide “incentives” to achieve these
other goals is through government policy and new taxes. This is
just the beginning of the new tax craze to help make up for
budget deficits across the nation, as CDC Director Thomas Frieden
suggested a tax on sugary drinks as a possible solution in
efforts to decrease availability and increase costs of foods
deemed “unhealthy.”
While potentially increasing revenues, this concept is one that
leads down the ominous slippery slope to the nanny state,
dictating what the government allows us to consume. Other new
taxes proposed by states also seem to have at best unintended
consequences leading to an expanded role of government in private
affairs and at worst a calculated attempt to use the deficit as
means of further means of control over citizens.
On a state level, New York has considered such a fat
tax, as well as taxes on a number of other everyday goods and
services to make ends meet. California has also tried to tax away
our vices with an increased tax on cigarettes and proposed taxes
on marijuana for recreational (which would also require
legalizing it first) and medicinal use. Many states have considered
gambling taxes and in Georgia, strip club taxes were debated.
Amidst the Obama crusade to give everyone affordable health care,
there’s even talk of taxing insurance plans over a certain
amount. Taxes on these specific items have an underlying agenda
beyond balancing the budget. Both state and federal governments
are doing their best to dictate what food you eat, the amount of
health care coverage you receive, and what vices you may or may
not partake in.
More taxation and government control hurt consumers and
businesses alike. It’s one more reason to start demanding
personal responsibility — and fiscal responsibility too.
