the responsibility is to have a strong country. to me this isnt about telling people what to do, its about making the country better. having 13 yr old diabetics and 30 yr olds with amputated legs and blindless is bad for the country. obviously the US public cannot manage their health. i see no problem with public policy being used to make the country stronger (within reason). a 10% tax on sweets does not present an unreasonable burden.
Maybe we should have mandatory jumping jacks every morning. The strongest countries are those where adults are allowed to make their own decisions. EVERYBODY knows that soda, cigs, fast food cheeseburgers and the like have little or no positive health value. Our nanny government, upset that they can't shame us into making their idea of healthy choices, will now just make it more expensive. This is not strong nation-building, this is steering more money into their own pockets. And do you know who this hurts the most? It's not the Coca-Colas and rich people of the world. Coke can handle this, as can the affluent person. So while most of us might just shrug and pay the stupid 10% surcharge, poor people who actually have to pinch pennies are affected the most. Coke won't go out of business, but smaller niche soda makers might. Your earlier comment that "most people are too stupid to make the right choices....so government HAS to manage them" is so cynical, so anti-freedom it makes me want to barf.
just because somebody cannot manage something, that doesnt mean you are justified to manage it for them. let adults live their lives. this is so simple and so true, how could people not see it? why is there such an urge for everyone to manage each other's lives? i kinda think schools should require things like being able to lift x percent of one's weight, or run an age graded timed mile, the same way they require learning multiplication. being fit is no less important than the three Rs. look, i get it, fat people are morons. i make fun of them all the time. they cant be bothered to make the right decision. but so what? i have made so many poor decisions in my life it is stunning. thats what humans do. we try to eventually act like adults and make smart decisions. we dont ask our government to nudge us into every choice. we make our decisions and we live with them. if fat idiots want to get fat, then so be it. being a fat ugly bastard is punishment enough.
i understand youre arguments but yall dont seem to understand mine. im a poor writer. lets assume that if nothing is done that it leads to the downfall of the country in 80 years. would you agree then that the gov should have made such paternal laws or not and live with the consequences. this is taking the argument to the extreme but it gets to the core. this is similar to early education. the gov should pay out the as$ (our taxes, obviously) for day care and prek because it will benefit the country greatly. not because they have an obligation to the parents or kids. there are lines that can be crossed, we should not be looking for utopia or facsism, but taxing sweets is nowhere near that line.
absurd assumtion. and no, that would not justify forcing any policies on free choice. "paternal" laws are exactly what the name implies, the kind of things needed for children. we can be a bit paternalistic and force children to go to school, because they cannot be expected to make adult choices. but adults are adults.
well, now, we've made progress. again, clearly adults are not adults. im fine, actually i expect the gov to make paternal laws if they have little intrusion but big rewards. was wondering if you have a problem with gov tax breaks or credits for education, child care, business expenses, etc. because to me they are on the other side of the same coin. if you dont have business expenses then you are paying more taxes. the gov is nudging people to do business, have children, (or at least work while they have them), and get an education. not because they have the right to tell you what to do, but because its good for the country.
Maybe the government should just tax all fat people's clothes and be done with it. If that's the route they're taking with being healthy but wanting money. Maybe it'll keep people from just becoming fat.
Wow. Just.... Wow. :dis: I'm gonna have to disagree with you there. Paternal laws have no place in a free society. Let people make their mistakes and learn from them. That is the only way this country will advance. Don't put them in a cage and treat them like rats. They will become rats (for example... welfare). Public education is another example. It is engrained and we are stuck with it. I have HUGE problems with gov tax breaks of ANY sort. Let me take a line from the left's play-book... "let everyone pay their fair share." :hihi: No exemptions and no tax breaks for behaving according to some bureaucrats definition of "properly". Sales tax only. What is good for the country is for adults to be treated like adults and let them live their lives. Let them be rewarded for their hard work and be punished for their mistakes. Don't force them to put their money in certain places to avoid taxes. Don't force them to pay for another person's laziness or genetic faults. I have been struggling with my weight for years. I am about 25 pounds heavier than I should be, not obese, but I was moving that way. It is my problem and I have to deal with it. I was dealt crappy genes with respect to physical health. Too bad. I am an adult and I will deal with it. And if I don't, I will pay for it. I don't need anyone to be my daddy. And I certainly don't need to be pushed one direction or another by some "do-gooder" bureaucrats that think that they know what is healthy and what is not. Slippery slope... red meat is next.
