Odessa

Well, and maybe smokers, too.

Some people seem to think that junk food it the sole reason for obesity. From the Los Angeles Times - "Forget Smokers, Tax Snakers", by Tina Dupuy.

Americans get really weird when we talk about obesity. We treat fat people like anorexic teenage girls. We don't want to freak them out or hurt their feelings. It might turn them into cutters.

Not from my account. Tina is obviously some skinny bitch who doesn't think that fat people see the disdain in her eyes - we ain't blind bitch.

I have a better proposal: a snack tax. We had one for about 18 months in the early 1990s. Granted, it was shot down in the polls by a huge margin, but that never stopped George W. Bush or Richard Nixon, or Dennis Kucinich for that matter, from making a comeback. In fact, a tobacco tax also was voted down here last year. So we're clearly not afraid of reruns.

Bring it on. For the amount of junk food I eat, this might increase my monthly budget by, oh I don't know, $5? I admit I'm not a saint - I love chocolate. But not all fat people sit eating cheese doodles and ring-dings all day.

But it's really unpopular to bring that up. We can sin-tax smokers all day long. Don't let them smoke in public areas; don't let them smoke in their apartments. Fine them if they smoke in their cars when there are minors riding with them. Shame them into being social pariahs.

I detect a bit of sensitivity here - Think Tina might be a smoker? I do agree that the politicians have grown a bit too fond of bitch slapping smokers around. They tax the shit out of cigarettes and most states slip that money into the general fund rather than smoking cessation and health care - where it belongs.

Since junk food may be contributing to health problems, maybe it should be taxed more heavily (many states already tax snack foods and soda). However, it is doubtful that the revenues will be put into health care. Rather it will be yet another way to give a slush fund to the politicians.

There is one big difference between cigarettes and junk food. One does not need to smoke - one does need to eat. It is simply a matter of what one chooses to eat that makes the distinction here. And lets not forget that the ingredients in the junk foods can be used to make healthful foods - so this tax would in no way help the Betty Crockers of the world. I may have to pay a tax on chocolate chips, but not on the flour, butter, baking soda, and sugar. Unless of course you tax the offending ingredients as well.

So, go ahead, bring on a snack tax. It will matter little more to me than the cigarette tax. However, if anyone thinks this will be a panacea for obesity they are fooling themselves. Are there people who eat themselves into oblivion? Sure. Does every fat person? No.