As if Being Fat Wasn't Taxing Enough

Your kid is fat so you need to pay more taxes. That’s the headline for some new proposals to trim down the United States’ bulging debt: fatten up taxes baby. On the surface this idea seems silly to me. Why is a government, which consistently produces shoddy health studies and recommendations, not only trying to regulate or tell people how they should be physically, but taxing those who are . . . out of line?

However, first thoughts are not always the best. So after thinking about this idea of taxing the parents of overweight kids I realized how heinous it actually was. A few thoughts if you care:

1. Would President Taft ever have dreamed of such a tax? Because his mom would pay a lot of these taxes. He was a bit over our government suggested weight. But some relate his obesity with his sleep apnea.

2. What if a child is obese because of a legitimate medical issue . . . such as sleep apnea? I think compounding the situation and adding more governmental burdens on someone is sad.

3. Many friends of mine grew up fat but have changed their style of living and habits in a way that has expanded their well-being far beyond physical health; society, in sometimes a hard way, teaches us to care for our bodies and we are pushed to pursue that; however, the motivation would be entirely different if it was Big Brother saying, ‘get thin!’

4. Who would determine the ‘fatness’ or obesity of a child? If it is anything like military regulations and charts it will be miserable as they in no way take into account of body type; it would only be determined by the individuals height and weight and, in some cases, body fat percentage. I know lots of people who are in great shape but according to governmental standards they are fat. Also, would teachers be the ones doing this? Another reason for them to have disdain from their students I’m sure.

5. On a basic level, who cares if someone’s kid is fat. It is the parent not the government who raises children. Now some might be doing a poor and even dangerous job but . . . eh, natural selection?

6. Where does the need to have 'in-shape' kids come from? Have we let our eyes grace too many magazine covers, seen too many super-athletes and models? Maybe we should blame--sue if it was still the early 90's--computers: the great advancement in technology has stifled imaginations and desires to play in the yard everywhere!

7. Who is going to pay most for this proposed bill if it indeed ever passed? The lower class. The lower class tend toward lower cost meals. Typically lower cost meals are wildly unhealthy. These wildly unhealthy meals are all the single-mother of 5 can afford, unless Uncle Sam wants starving kids on his plate.

8. I think this reveals the extent of the responsibility that our leaders feel: ‘we are doing our job, but the real problem are with unattractive kids.’ Let’s kill or defeat the bad guys; help each other out; allow people to pursue happiness and stop blaming the fat kid . . .as if they do not have enough pressure on them anyway.

Well, I’m out like a senator in dodge ball.