If you thought I exaggerated…
…in my last post about taxing fast food, don’t miss today’s New York Times article, “For a World of Woes, We Blame Cookie Monsters“.
The idea of using economic incentives to help people shed pounds comes up in the periodic calls for taxes on junk food. Martin B. Schmidt, an economist at the College of William and Mary, suggests a tax on food bought at drive-through windows. Describing his theory in a recent Op-Ed article in The New York Times, Dr. Schmidt said people would expend more calories if they had to get out of their cars to pick up their food.
“We tax cigarettes in part because of their health cost,” he wrote. “Similarly, the individual’s decision to lead a sedentary lifestyle will end up costing taxpayers.”
You think it’s limited to cigarrettes and tobacco products? Think again.
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