Putting a 20% tax on drinks with sugar

[Boges]

9 hours ago, ?Impact said:

Yes, certainly that has some merit. It does seem to clash with other unhealthy activities like smoking, which many people use to control their weight. I don't think there is a universal solution, but yes weight could be one indicator to look at. There is certainly a range of weight that is somewhat healthy for an individual based on gender, height, etc. Perhaps anyone in that range has a zero deductible on healthcare, and outside that range you pay a deductible of $1 per kilogram squared (or perhaps to the 1.5 or something) to make it a logarithmic curve. Yes, underweight people need to cough up as well. I will give some example of overweight (same would apply to underweight by same amount) based on the BMI range for my age/sex/height rounded to the nearest $1. The other metric that might be better is % body fat. If we assume I weighed the following, here are the deductibles I would pay with the kg squared formula:

• 135 lbs to 182 lbs (ie. within range) - $0
• 190 lbs - $13
• 200 lbs - $67
• 210 lbs - $161
• 220 lbs - $297
• 230 lbs - $474
• 240 lbs - $692
• 250 lbs - $951

If anyone thinks that ratio is too high here is kg to the power of 1.5:

• 135 lbs to 182 lbs (ie. within range) - $0
• 190 lbs - $7
• 200 lbs - $23
• 210 lbs - $45
• 220 lbs - $72
• 230 lbs - $102
• 240 lbs - $135
• 250 lbs - $171

 

You do know the BMI is a completely useless way to determine actual health right? I can't believe you'd actually forward such an idiotic plan. 

Anyone looking to up the price of Universal Healthcare for people because of unhealthy behaviour has to do it for people that play extreme sports, or do work that tends to lead to chronic medical conditions down the line. It's a slippery slope. 

I needed knee surgery because I injured it doing a recreational activity. Should the taxpayer have been on the hook for something I did on my leisure time? 

As for the Sugar tax. It's useless. Sugary foods are already the cheapest foods you can usually consume. So you're just looking to raise the cost of living for everyone. Sure I don't drink soda much, but I love coffee, I put sugar in my coffee, how is that going to take into consideration. And how about purchasing the ACTUAL sugar? I can buy a fair bit of sugar for a variety of purposes for a very low price. What's the fair price for a pound of sugar now? Would coffee shops now have to charge for those sugar packets you can get for free? 

Edited March 17, 2017 by Boges

[Topaz]

The easy way to do it is for producers to quit using sugar cane and switch to stevia, which has only 1% carbs. Sugar cane ups blood sugars and feeds cancers.

[Boges]

4 minutes ago, Topaz said:

The easy way to do it is for producers to quit using sugar cane and switch to stevia, which has only 1% carbs. Sugar cane ups blood sugars and feeds cancers.

Artificial sweetners aren't all that healthy either. 

[Argus]

12 minutes ago, Boges said:

Artificial sweetners aren't all that healthy either. 

No, I switched from Diet Coke back to Coke because sugar is more healthy than aspartame.

[PIK]

13 hours ago, dialamah said:

Argus has to pay all this tax because of the work he chose to do; if he wanted to pay less tax, he should not have chosen a job that pays so much.  

The government eliminated the children's fitness tax credit.  I don't know if this is a good move or not; it seems to have primarily benefited families that could afford to put kids into extra-curricular activities, who probably already had a better fitness level anyway.  But it would be interesting to know if it substantially increased participation in the programs to which it applied.

 

That is because the liberals want kids fat and lazy and living off the government.

Edited March 17, 2017 by PIK

[Michael Hardner]

2 minutes ago, PIK said:

That is because the liberals want kids fat and lazy and living off the government.

Let me get this straight, now: it's Conservatives who want to use the government to solve health problems via punitive taxes/tax credits ?

 

[Boges]

11 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

Let me get this straight, now: it's Conservatives who want to use the government to solve health problems via punitive taxes/tax credits ?

 

Well the Conservatives used the carrot method. This is clearly the stick method. 

[Rue]

Speaking in addition to the "fabulously wealth" Argus, (Dialamah you commie, don't start with me) it is that I do not doubt the usual leftists on this board think making up idiotic pretenses to tax people is swell. I don't. Taxes have never changed the behaviour of addicts just exploit their addiction to get more revenue to waste on idiotic leftist notions.

"Show me a citizen who welcomes taxes, I will show you someone who spends a lot of time at the steam rooms. "

Rue(Paul) 1978

 

 

Edited March 17, 2017 by Rue

[Topaz]

4 hours ago, Boges said:

Artificial sweetners aren't all that healthy either. 

It's NOT a artificial sweetener, its a plant based sugar.

[BillyBeaver]

yeah i'd use stevia over aspartame based sweeteners or splenda (discovered from trying to develop fertilizer)

[-1=e^ipi]

16 hours ago, BillyBeaver said:

) Subsidize farmers (dairy) into growing more fresh local non GMOproduce. Provide a framework for distribution for all Canadians, rural and urban. Don't waste money on ad campaigns and information because unhealthy people will ignore it anyways

Or... get rid of supply management. Then Milk & eggs will be much cheaper in Canada. Also, there is nothing wrong with GMOs.

[BillyBeaver]

Supply management protects our farmers from getting OPECed by large agro-corporations. There is lots wrong with GMOs.

[Bonam]

5 hours ago, Topaz said:

It's NOT a artificial sweetener, its a plant based sugar.

It tastes gross and there are no conclusive studies on the health effects of  continued consumption over a lifetime. 

[Wilber]

21 hours ago, blackbird said:

There are some doctors who will not give you heart surgery if you are a smoker.   I overheard a doctor tell a smoking patient that on the heart ward.   That saves a lot of money too.

I find that hard to believe. I can see not wanting to give someone a transplant though.

[blackbird]

1 minute ago, Wilber said:

I find that hard to believe. I can see not wanting to give someone a transplant though.

I think the doctor was annoyed with the patient because he refused to quit smoking.  I'm not sure what happened finally.  I doubt if most doctors are like that.

[Army Guy]

22 hours ago, Rue said:

Speaking in addition to the "fabulously wealth" Argus, (Dialamah you commie, don't start with me) it is that I do not doubt the usual leftists on this board think making up idiotic pretenses to tax people is swell. I don't. Taxes have never changed the behaviour of addicts just exploit their addiction to get more revenue to waste on idiotic leftist notions.

"Show me a citizen who welcomes taxes, I will show you someone who spends a lot of time at the steam rooms. "

Rue(Paul) 1978

 

 

Well said Rue......Why do we continually need to tax ourselves more for the bad choices of others...a 20 % tax on sugar products because we have an obesity problem, last time i checked obesity was a choice put to much in without the effort to burn it off and poof your a fat bastard....some have said WOW 10 bil the first year, is what we could earn.....is the tax just a way to put money into the governments coffers...or is it to tackle the issue of obesity....which as far as i can tell has not even been mentioned.....

we live in a nation where eating healthy cost a lot more than it does to eat junk....who created that nightmare....can it be reversed by our government, and when taxing junk puts basic food out of reach of lower income earners what then.....what do we force them to eat then....and what if they don't get skinney, do we start rounding them up, give them to the military as big soft bouncing targets....do we let the police take care of them, arrest them for being to round, send them to new Federal Fat camps prison, to work off there big bouncing bodies....

where does it stop, do we have to tax all behavior that we don't like....like bad children, so now we pay a bad child tax, disco music, so now we all pay a disco tax, a bad liberal idea , so now we pay a bad liberal tax.....

When did we feel the need to take away freedoms and choices in order to pad the governments coffers... 

[Guest]

Tax the living daylights out of all forms of sugar.  It's just the faceless corporations way of getting the proles hooked on their products.  Tax the bloody life out of the bastards.

Edited March 18, 2017 by bcsapper

[Rue]

1 hour ago, Army Guy said:

Well said Rue......Why do we continually need to tax ourselves more for the bad choices of others...a 20 % tax on sugar products because we have an obesity problem, last time i checked obesity was a choice put to much in without the effort to burn it off and poof your a fat bastard....some have said WOW 10 bil the first year, is what we could earn.....is the tax just a way to put money into the governments coffers...or is it to tackle the issue of obesity....which as far as i can tell has not even been mentioned.....

we live in a nation where eating healthy cost a lot more than it does to eat junk....who created that nightmare....can it be reversed by our government, and when taxing junk puts basic food out of reach of lower income earners what then.....what do we force them to eat then....and what if they don't get skinney, do we start rounding them up, give them to the military as big soft bouncing targets....do we let the police take care of them, arrest them for being to round, send them to new Federal Fat camps prison, to work off there big bouncing bodies....

where does it stop, do we have to tax all behavior that we don't like....like bad children, so now we pay a bad child tax, disco music, so now we all pay a disco tax, a bad liberal idea , so now we pay a bad liberal tax.....

When did we feel the need to take away freedoms and choices in order to pad the governments coffers... 

Agreed.

Rue,

Chair, Committee To Support the Rich Argus Guy hoping he will remember us and give us a job

Chair, Committee To Buy Dialamah a  low cal beer

 

 

[Topaz]

20 hours ago, Bonam said:

It tastes gross and there are no conclusive studies on the health effects of  continued consumption over a lifetime. 

How can it taste gross when there's no taste to it? Are u sure it stevia?

[Boges]

Similar to how governments created communities where living without a car is very difficult only to then say that driving is bad and transportation should be heavily taxed. We have a society where sugar is very difficult to remove from one's diet, but governments now want to make eating much more expensive without a comparable alternative. 

This can't just be about soda. So many products have extra sugar. 

[Wilber]

To many carbs are the problem. Lots of obese people drink only diet soft drinks but can't lay off the chips and other high carb foods.

[Bonam]

22 hours ago, Topaz said:

How can it taste gross when there's no taste to it? Are u sure it stevia?

No taste? Hah. So many people out there with dead taste buds tell me stuff has "no taste" or "tastes the same". 

[Boges]

25 minutes ago, Wilber said:

To many carbs are the problem. Lots of obese people drink only diet soft drinks but can't lay off the chips and other high carb foods.

Simple carbs due to sugar. Complex carbs are very good for you. 

[Benz]

On ‎2017‎-‎03‎-‎17 at 0:47 PM, Boges said:

Artificial sweetners aren't all that healthy either. 

Indeed. They do not have calories but, they make you feel hungry and you eat more. Which is just as worst. Not to mention they can damage the brain of the youth.

[Benz]

I agree with the principle of that tax but, all products concerned by that suger should be taxed just the same way. Then 90% of the fast food will become expensive. Ironic because the US government is subsidizing the industry of that sugar.

A tax to fight the subsidize. How about we cut the subsidize in the first place? Well I know, most of the subsidizes are in USA and we are in Canada.

Edited March 20, 2017 by Benz