Quote:
TAXING unhealthy foods in a bid to put the brakes on the obesity epidemic would be ineffective, inefficient and unfair to the poor.
Access Economics health expert Lynne Pezzullo said the growing clamour from health experts for a so-called "fat tax" was misguided and would hurt the poor much more than it would hurt the rich.
Low-income people who were not obese would suffer unduly as a result, she told an international obesity conference in Sydney.
A "fat tax" also incorrectly assumed that the type of food consumed was the problem rather than the amount of food - a point that was also made this week by federal Health Minister Tony Abbott, who said there was nothing wrong with the occasional "treat".
Perhaps it's educating people on how to manage their pocketbook that would help the most?
A large bag of chips is $3
I can easily put together a really good meal for $3 for myself. If I have to, I can really easily live off of $5/day worth of food and eat really well. You just have to be smart about it.
Saying that taxing chips and ho-hos and stuff is going to hurt the poor is a load of ****. The gov't here racks in the cash on other luxury items like cigs and liquor. Might as well add it to junk food too!