Fat Tax

I read Becker's comment on taxing fat with great interest. Basically, there's a discussion now around taxing foods with 'bad' fats such as Trans Fat and Saturated Fat (i.e. Macdonalds fries) in the hopes of reducing their consumption, the same way that governments try to reduce smoking and drinking through high taxes.

Interesting. I'd never thought of equating the two but if you think about it in terms of life expectancy (a measure that governments take a keen interest arguably because of your tax paying lifespan), dying from lung cancer is the same as dying from obesity or a heart attack.

Imagine a tax on sio bak (roast pork) or lard. What if you order Hokkien mee and each piece of fried lard costs an extra 30cents ! :D

And what if we applied this same principle to other things in life ? There'd be basically two groups of 'inputs' and activities. Things which increase your life expectancy, and things which shorten it. Then tax those which shorten it, and encourage (through discounts) those which lengthen it.

Lengtheners
Posturepedic support beds (good support for your spine)
Massage and Aromatherapy (reduce your blood pressure)
Green Tea (should come out of every tap !)
Healthy Exercise

Shorteners
Refined Sugar
Junk food
Processed Meats
Sedentary gamma-ray bathing in front of the TV

Hmmm *scratch chin*