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Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Serving Up Common Sense
While Cutting The Fat
Put that Big Mac down and listen to this!
In his CNN column, guest columnist Rudy Ruiz suggested that fast food, soft drinks and other unhealthy goodies should be taxed.
Yes, let’s tax people who go to McDonald’s or they want extra butter on their popcorn. Because taxing smokers really helped them to quit, right?
Taxing people who want junk food makes about as much sense as that idiot who tried to sue McDonald’s because he said their food made him fat. And even suggesting this tax is more stupid, because why would you want to give the government another reason to tax us?
While we would like the government to handle some of our problems, I think Congress has enough on its plate without worrying about fast food. And I think most of us would still like to have a bit of control over what we want to eat.
But no amount of government control is going to stop people from making the wrong and unhealthy choices for themselves. Again, look at the cigarette tax.
The only control that we need is self control. Sure, for some of us, it’s easier said than done but with the right motivation and support group (family and friends) we can make the healthy choices for ourselves and others, just like many did in yesteryear.
Our live styles have changed greatly over the decades. For example, Americans were not as health conscious as we are now and tofu was unknown. However, many of these meat-and-potato-Americans had a completely different life style. The wife stayed home and made dinner.
But now, the luxury of having any spouse home to prepare dinner while the other one is at work is just not possible. With our troubled economy, many families need both husband and wife at work in order to survive. So, the Big Mac has replaced the family pot roast, sadly.
Some might see that taxing fast food is a stepping stone to outlawing the sinful, forbidden food, but not to worry, because neither would ever happen.
Because no politician in his or her right mind is going to risk losing voters because of their love affair with the Whopper.
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