Should There Be Taxes on Junk Food
Should There Be Taxes on Sodas or Other Junk Foods?
Position: No
Background:
The question whether or not to put a tax on sugary beverages and junk food has made its way to our legislatures desks because of the overwhelming population of obese people throughout the world. The alarming consequences of obesity have given the government reasoning to take charge and try to rectify the problem. They believe that by taxing certain food items that are high in sugar and salt content, trans fat, and saturated fat the percentage of obese persons will decline. Even though the obesity problem has increased over the years, who is to say that putting a tax on soda and junk food alone will solve this issue? Further more, the process of assigning a tax to junk food would be extremely tedious for the government because they would have to be extremely cautious about violating individual rights and upsetting the public. Going along with this idea, there are a lot of gray areas associated with which foods are considered to be unhealthy and what percentage of that is appropriate to tax. Lastly, the overall affect of a tax could result in an economic downturn.
Argument 1: A “Fat Tax” will not solve our nation’s obesity problem.
Sugary beverages and junk food are not the sole cause of overweight gain and health diseases. Yes America has made itself known to be one of the fattest nations, but Big Gulps and family size chip bags are not the only entity making people fat. Other variables could possibly be demographic such as age, ethnicity, gender, or residency. Studies show that one third of U.S adults are obese and minorities take up a chunk of that portion. “Obesity is especially prevalent among minorities; African Americans have a 51 percent prevalence of obesity and Hispanics have 21 percent higher obesity prevalence than whites” (Marlow 2012). Another leading cause of obesity is the advancement of technology that has led our society to become extremely lazy. The
Position: No
Background:
The question whether or not to put a tax on sugary beverages and junk food has made its way to our legislatures desks because of the overwhelming population of obese people throughout the world. The alarming consequences of obesity have given the government reasoning to take charge and try to rectify the problem. They believe that by taxing certain food items that are high in sugar and salt content, trans fat, and saturated fat the percentage of obese persons will decline. Even though the obesity problem has increased over the years, who is to say that putting a tax on soda and junk food alone will solve this issue? Further more, the process of assigning a tax to junk food would be extremely tedious for the government because they would have to be extremely cautious about violating individual rights and upsetting the public. Going along with this idea, there are a lot of gray areas associated with which foods are considered to be unhealthy and what percentage of that is appropriate to tax. Lastly, the overall affect of a tax could result in an economic downturn.
Argument 1: A “Fat Tax” will not solve our nation’s obesity problem.
Sugary beverages and junk food are not the sole cause of overweight gain and health diseases. Yes America has made itself known to be one of the fattest nations, but Big Gulps and family size chip bags are not the only entity making people fat. Other variables could possibly be demographic such as age, ethnicity, gender, or residency. Studies show that one third of U.S adults are obese and minorities take up a chunk of that portion. “Obesity is especially prevalent among minorities; African Americans have a 51 percent prevalence of obesity and Hispanics have 21 percent higher obesity prevalence than whites” (Marlow 2012). Another leading cause of obesity is the advancement of technology that has led our society to become extremely lazy. The
Cited: Colvin, J. (20120, September 13). New york soda ban approved: Board of health oks limiting sale of large-sized, sugary drinks. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/new-york-approves-soda-ban-big-sugary-drinks_n_1880868.html Riddix, M Pham, S. (2010, December 15). Food, obesity, and regulation: Simmering culture war boils over . Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/food-regulation-fuels-culture-war-left/story?id=12394919 Fishman, R Salahi, L. (2012, May 16). 'fat tax ' to lower obesity . Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/fat-tax-lower-obesity/story?id=16353067 Wilden, N Mays, J. (2012, July 12). Harlem small businesses rail against bloomberg 's sugary drink ban read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120712/east-harlem/harlem-small-businesses-rail-against-bloombergs-sugary-drink-ban