Taxing Overweight People

[ShyGuyInChicago]

Marco Wanderwitz, law maker in the German state of Saxony has proposed that overweight people should be taxed in order to compensate for the burden they put on the country's universal healthcare system. If a country has universal healthcare, does it make sense and is it desirable to tax people who are overweight and/or unhealthy?

[DarkHorses]

Um, no. If this were the case then we should also tax anyone who is sick; anyone who has cancer or high blood pressure or heart problems. And if it's the case then there should be a HUGE tax on smokers. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. Whoever said this is an ignorant idiot, and we should tax him for his stupidity.

[Amnesiac]

Wouldn't it just be better to exclude overweight people who do nothing to slim down from the healthcare system?

[DarkHorses]

Wouldn't it just be better to exclude overweight people who do nothing to slim down from the healthcare system?

That's far from fair either. A lot of people who are overweight have underlying problems which make it difficult for them to lose weight. A lot of times being overweight is tied to emotional problems, and it's not as simple as just deciding to lose weight. They truly struggle with it. It's not fair to take away health care from anyone.

[Amnesiac]

That's far from fair either. A lot of people who are overweight have underlying problems which make it difficult for them to lose weight. A lot of times being overweight is tied to emotional problems, and it's not as simple as just deciding to lose weight. They truly struggle with it. It's not fair to take away health care from anyone.

I agree with you: healthcare should be available for everyone. However, what about the people who take too much advantage of it and damage the system?

I'm not saying exclude obese people who have underlying problems, but obese people who are obese entirely through their own actions and choices. People who eat McDonalds for every meal.

[DarkHorses]

I agree with you: healthcare should be available for everyone. However, what about the people who take too much advantage of it and damage the system?

I'm not saying exclude obese people who have underlying problems, but obese people who are obese entirely through their own actions and choices. People who eat McDonalds for every meal.

Fair enough, but who's to decide that they are obese entirely through their own actions? How is the health care system going to tell the difference between people who honestly struggle with their weight and people who are careless and have no problem other than laziness? It seems like it would be a hassle for them to check up on the persons diet plan just to make sure they are deserving of health care.

And also, just because you're not overweight doesn't mean that you're healthy. There could be some people who eat nothing but McDonalds and sit on their asses all day but are still a healthy weight. It's unfair to not take away their health care as well, then, because they eat the same, it just doesn't have the same outcome. And that would be extremely unfair for the overweight people.

[Amnesiac]

Fair enough, but who's to decide that they are obese entirely through their own actions? How is the health care system going to tell the difference between people who honestly struggle with their weight and people who are careless and have no problem other than laziness? It seems like it would be a hassle for them to check up on the persons diet plan just to make sure they are deserving of health care.

And also, just because you're not overweight doesn't mean that you're healthy. There could be some people who eat nothing but McDonalds and sit on their asses all day but are still a healthy weight. It's unfair to not take away their health care as well, then, because they eat the same, it just doesn't have the same outcome. And that would be extremely unfair for the overweight people.

It's true it would be difficult to determine who's taking advantage of the system. It would be "a hassle", but in systems (such as taxes) there are plenty of hassles that just have to be paid attention to.

The McDonalds thing was an example. I doubt you could get by healthy by eating McDonalds every day.

The thing is, in such a system as nationalized healthcare, there will be those who take advantage of its benefits. It's bound to happen. The question is, how do we deal with it?

[Azunite]

I don't eat a lot of food, and I am fat. Because I don't do sports a lot.
If you tax people because they are fat, then it means that you don't have respect for other humans, eventually it makes you inhuman

[ShatteredWings]

how about we just not have universial health care, no? solves the problem.
im not a fan of the system. it sounds weird when paired with some of my view and i know.

[dead]

how about we just not have universial health care, no? solves the problem.
im not a fan of the system. it sounds weird when paired with some of my view and i know.


Fair enough, but who's to decide that they are obese entirely through their own actions? How is the health care system going to tell the difference between people who honestly struggle with their weight and people who are careless and have no problem other than laziness? It seems like it would be a hassle for them to check up on the persons diet plan just to make sure they are deserving of health care.

And also, just because you're not overweight doesn't mean that you're healthy. There could be some people who eat nothing but McDonalds and sit on their asses all day but are still a healthy weight. It's unfair to not take away their health care as well, then, because they eat the same, it just doesn't have the same outcome. And that would be extremely unfair for the overweight people.

Healthcare already do things like this and there is nothing wrong with it by the eyes of the law. When I say 'things like this' I mean denying coverage because someone is sick or seems unhealthy, also charging those who are sick or have a higher risk of being sick more.