So people who fart should pay "pollution tax" to cover environment costs.
Overweight people should pay 'fat tax' to cover healthcare costs, German MP says
This story comes from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...n-MP-says.html
"The question must be admitted whether the immense costs that, for example, arise from excessive consumption of food, can be permanently paid out of the consolidated health system," said Marco Wanderwitz, the conservative MP for the state of Saxony.
"I think it's sensible that people who knowingly live unhealthily carry a responsibility for it in a financial respect," said Mr Wanderwitz, who is also head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats's group of young parliamentarians. He was supported by Juergen Wasem, an economist who said foods like chocolate should carry health warnings.
"As with tobacco, we should tax the purchase of unhealthy consumer goods at a higher rate and pay that tax into the health system," he said. Germany's health system is funded by a series of mandatory health insurance funds, all of which are reporting serious deficits as the system is overused.
Bild, the German newspaper, estimated that treatment for obesity-related illnesses cost Germany some £16 billion a year. Recently the German Teachers' Association recommended weighing children in class each day and reporting the seriously overweight to social services, who would have the power to remove them to clinics.
Although opposition politicians blasted the "fat-tax" proposal, researchers at the Jacobs University in Bremen claimed its work proved that the majority of the public would back a tax on people whose unhealthy lifestyles landed them in hospital or under other medical care.
So people who fart should pay "pollution tax" to cover environment costs.
And what is the sense in punishing thin People that like to eat "unhealthy stuff" here and there along with all the fatasses that cant control themself by a universal tax ?
Im tired beeing conditioned via taxes that will only be used to fill holes created by other antisocial People that get themself into problems I will never have in my life ...
There is some point to it. The costs for treating diabetes are already 20% of the whole health care costs in Germany. Thats way out of proportion.
Anyone who plays a sport should also pay an extra tax, since sports injuries can be very expensive...
everybody farts, that is a stupid analogy. Not everyone is fat, and those who are not are forced to pay for the stupid decisions of those who are. Tax em, and tax them a lot more than $30/month that a gym membership costs. Otherwise they will pay the ****ing tax and remain fat.
Originally Posted by ssalb
Is Merkel considered overweight?
Are you fat?
No, are you?
maybe but they should also get a credit since exercise is good for you....
In the end we will go in full circle and will let insurers assess individual "health risk" factor and will base health insurance premiums only on that. Complete deregulation of health care will be cheaper for most people who treat individual health responsibly. That will make the whole system financially solvent. It will probably leave unhealthy people uninsured - but healthcare is "goods" not "rights". Some people will always have the shorter end of the stick.
In Germany we call this "Sommerloch" (summer hole), the newsless time when our politicians are on vacation (or should be, as this guy)
Usually it is filled with escaping alligators and other animals but second best are absurd ideas by backseat MPs.
And no, I'm not fat either
depends on her body weight index and I am surely not qualified to make that decision. she does not look fat to me. maybe the rule in question should apply to obese people only.
The root of fatness of human being is too much food supply. Maybe cut down food production will solve the problem.
My question is how will it be measured? If they use that stupid BMI scale, then a lot of athletic Germans (assuming they have higher muscle mass) are going to get screwed. Are they going to do waist measurement? I've seen physically fit individuals who're round by nature, not because they eat McDonald's everyday. That would be unfair to them. So how will this tax be carried out?
I would normally be against this sort of thing, but since Germany uses a nationalized healthcare system, I find it a fair tax. If you put strain on the system, you should pull your weight (no pun intended).
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