FAT vs. TOBACCO: KONDRACKE is DELUSIONAL
Mort Kondracke, who I often agree with, has taken leave of his senses. He is proposing the government fight FAT FOODS with higher taxes, as has been done with cigarettes. He rightly rejects the McDonald's lawsuits, but cites other intrusive government regulations to support this cockamamie proposition. The one he finds least "helpful" is a Dept. of Agriculture report that recommends "60 to 90 minutes of daily exercise — so much that most people will give up before trying." Instead, he wants to tax fatty foods, whether they're bought by obese people or not. At least with tobacco, the smokers were the only ones paying the extra tax. This tax will fall on all food consumers (pretty much everybody), and like the tobacco tax, it will disproportionally affect the poorest Americans, or force them to buy less fatty foods, if you believe Mort. I don't think that this will do anything but hurt the people and the economy, and it will do less to fight obesity than recommending 60 to 90 minutes of exercise a day.
The link started going to his most recent column, so I deleted it.
The link started going to his most recent column, so I deleted it.
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