sin tax vs ex-lax

About 31% of Americans are obese and 65% are overweight. America has earned the bad reputation of being fat pigs who eat portions big enough to feed a family of 5 in Paris. A large contributor to obesity is the price of the junk food people are buying. Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Twinkies, and a quart of ice cream adds up to half the price of 3 bags of fresh produce. This leads to the issue of sin tax. Fattening foods are generally cheaper then fresh fruits and vegetables. Government officials believe that a tax could help offset that imbalance, and push people to eat more of what is good for them and less of what is not.

If I'm having a bad day and I just want to treat myself to some ice cream, I would feel pretty bad to reach for the carton and be faced with a sin tax- I already feel bad enough eating unhealthy food, so I don't appreciate the government telling me I'm sinning. But then again, it could make me not want to buy it because it is more expensive, I could buy something healthier for the same price, and the name makes me feel guilty.

Sin taxes have been placed on cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, and gas-guzzling vehicles. The taxes have turned out to be very effective in reducing and preventing those activities. However, when it comes to taxes on unhealthy food, some people aren't so supportive. Dietitian Kellie Glass says, "folks are just not going to give up all the foods they love, even if they are more expensive." While this is true, 63% of the people who opposed the tax said they would change their minds if the money they were spending on the healthy food was used to fund a health care over-haul and combat heath problems related to obesity.

I think the sin tax is a good idea because I think it would actually be effective. I was talking to my mom's friend who said she would buy chicken breast at Whole Foods, but it costs $10 more then it does from a cheap grocery store where it is drowned in salt water. She said if the chickens were the same price, she would buy the healthier one. I think people do want to be healthy and make the right choices, but living in a time with the economy like it is, people are trying to save money wherever they can. Although I think the sin tax would be beneficial, I think a lot of people would be really angry. Nobody wants to have anything taxed right now, especially not food that fat, broke people eat everyday. So, either this sin tax goes into effect and people become healthier, or they spend less money, eat like crap, and then lose weight with ex-lax. ew... so, which one- sin tax or ex-lax? I choose sin tax.