writing class concluded yesterday. spending some much needed relaxation time house/dog sitting for some people we don’t know. the lizards in the backyard elude me at every turn, but i stole one of their eggs.
today, i felt like watching my favorite torturetainment (fox news). after all, it has been a long while since i heard any news about the new york times aligning itself with terrorists. too long. and the 2 minutes hate commenced!
then, when i felt my patriot batteries were just about recharged, a segment about obese people came on and the bafflement ensued. some crazy lady presented her case about how overweight workers should pay more for their health insurance. shape up or pay up. even more amazing was how the interviewer remained somewhat objective.
singling people out for their weight and making them “weigh-in” at work suggests discriminatory behaviour. if anything, they shouldn’t have to pay more, they should have to pay less. it’s not their fault that mcdonald’s restaurants exist on every street corner or that the primary ingredients in most foods consist of sugar or sodium. where’s the outrage about the shit they put in our food? sometimes i just want to choke on a fish bone.
I think they should tax “fattening” foods just like they do alcohol and cigarettes. And then they should take that money and provide health care for everyone. In turn those who need the health care the most (the fatties, drunks and smokers) will have contributed the most to the insurance. Thats what I propose.
Vote Stemshul 2016
So, are you claiming that people have no personal responsibility for the food they eat? You don’t have to eat at McDonald’s…and don’t even try the argument that some people are busy and only have time to get their “meals” from fast food restaurants. If you’re so busy that you need to eat fast food every night, then you have bigger problems than obesity. I partake in some fast food from time to time, but I know full well that the more of it I eat (and the less activity I do) the fattier I will get. I’m not suggesting the “fat tax” is a good idea, and I don’t wish people to be singled out because of their weight, but let’s not go so far as to say that it’s McDonald’s fault.
no, the argument i’m making is that healthy choices don’t exist or are tucked behind some counter somewhere. if you are insinuating that it’s easy to eat healthy in this country, you are far removed from the rest of the population. when i drive down any road, i see jack in the box, mcdonald’s, burger king, wendy’s, taco bell, subway and arby’s. of those choices, only subway will not load you full of fat and sodium, with wendy’s being the next best alternative. tell me how that’s a balanced equation for a hungry consumer. and the only real healthy alternative is to go and buy groceries and cook yourself a meal, but how many people would consider that? while i’m a firm believer in personal responsibility, i also think that people have to be given a viable option before they can really be labeled as irresponsible.
How many people would consider that? All of the “choices” you described are fast food…not designed to be healthy, designed to be addictive maybe, and designed to be convenient. The viable option IS to buy groceries and cook yourself a meal. We have become far too “convenience” driven as a society. So what if there are fatty, fast food joints on every corner. Do the smart, sensible, and I have to say not exactly inconvenient thing, and cook your own damn meals.
but why does fast food automatically equal unhealthy? just because that’s the way it’s always been and we accept it by eating it constantly? you’re saying that people should just stop being lazy and cook their own “healthy” meals. i’m saying that people should continue to be lazy and be able to get their meals cooked for them in a healthy way. neither of these choices are very plausible, so really we just have a couple of dead horses and some fantastic bats. whack away. and while we’re at it, charge the fat people more money for health insurance, because they should have been able to find the grocery store tucked behind the thousands of restaurants.
Eat a salad. There are healthy options at fast food. The problem is that people get the fattier food because fat tastes good. You could eat at McDonalds every day and lose weight if you just choose the correct options. Lots of people have done and documented it to combat the Super Size Me movie.
Also if smokers have to pay more for insurance and so do old people why can’t obese people?
I think that their are plenty of “healthy options” out their. People don’t want them though, they would rather eat what tastes good then blame some one else on their expanding waist line.
I think that obese people should pay more. Smokers already do. The health risks aren’t that different.
by that logic, my health insurance should be free, because i’m perfectly healthy and i mostly take care of myself. this is what is wrong with the health care system. people think that unhealthy people should pay more because they are driving up health costs. well, that’s not a very fair system. in fact, it starts to sound less like an insurance plan and more like you are paying for your ailments. if that’s the case, why not get rid of health insurance and just start up personal savings plans where you put money aside from every paycheck and then when you need to visit the doctor, that money becomes available to you.
you are right about the similarities between smoking and eating unhealthy food, but it’s not just a health risk. the psychology behind why people compulsively smoke or eat fatty foods is not all that different. but what you are saying is that those people should be punished for having addictions they obviously can’t control. you don’t like that they blame their problems on other stuff, but then you don’t mind blaming them for rising health insurance premiums.
I agree with Zac. Health care should be free. Free in that the government provides it. That means that we all pay for it via our tax dollars. I also believe that people who make unwise decisions about their health should be accountable. Hench taxes on cigarettes, alcahol and “unhealthy food”.
To say that people shouldnt be held accountable because its an addiction is ridiculous. First of all, you dont know anything about psychology, I do. (Thank you Tom Cruise.) It takes a stupid person in this day in age to not know the consequences of their actions regarding their health in these respects. Every where you go they talk about balanced nutrition. Cigarettes and alcohol have warnings all over them about the adverse affects they can have.
People choose to make bad decisions. Ive made them, hell I still do make them. But I dont blame anyone but myself for them. Ive smoked on and off for over 9 years now. I havnt had a cigarette in over a year, but not a day goes by that I dont want one. I am addicted to nicotine. I dont know that that desire will ever go away but I resist it every day. Ive chosen to live a healthier life. For those people who dont, maybe they shouldnt have to pay, but I shouldnt have to pay for them.