Ladies and Gentlemen your American elected senators

[knowknow456]

Did I ever mention my Aunt Josephine? She was a smoker and proud of it. Oxygen at 62. Cancer at 67. She was smoking in the hospital bed Uncle Frank had installed at her house at the end.

And God knows I loved my Aunt Nora. When I was a kid she was one of those 300 pounders who never had kids but loved them. She would give you one of those giant bear hugs hello and good bye. I was afraid of her because my older cousins said one day she would hug me and eat me like a snack, like poor cousin Michael. She spent the last ten years of her life home bound, the final four bedridden after they took off her leg.

There is a relationship between health and dollars but lifestyle change can be surprisingly impervious to monetary incentives

 

[HALL85]

Did I ever mention my Aunt Josephine? She was a smoker and proud of it. Oxygen at 62. Cancer at 67. She was smoking in the hospital bed Uncle Frank had installed at her house at the end.

And God knows I loved my Aunt Nora. When I was a kid she was one of those 300 pounders who never had kids but loved them. She would give you one of those giant bear hugs hello and good bye. I was afraid of her because my older cousins said one day she would hug me and eat me like a snack, like poor cousin Michael. She spent the last ten years of her life home bound, the final four bedridden after they took off her leg.

There is a relationship between health and dollars but lifestyle change can be surprisingly impervious to monetary incentives

There will always be a segment of the population that will not utilize any program as it's designed which is fine. Just don't expect them to have the same choices at the same cost as someone who does.

 

[knowknow456]

when healthcare is too cheap, the majority of citizens will not care about their health.

I would rather say, when healthcare is too cheap, the majority of citizens will not differentiate how they spend their money.

When it will hurt their wallet to get sick, they will start to think about their lifestyle.

I would say, when it will hurt their wallet to get sick, for some they will not change their lifestyle and for others it is too late to change their lifestyle.

 

[Pirata]

I would say, when it will hurt their wallet to get sick, for some they will not change their lifestyle and for others it is too late to change their lifestyle.

A pack a day habit currently costs $3,000 per year

 

[Merge]

A pack a day habit currently costs $3,000 per year

A good example of something that's unhealthy being taxed which resulted in a decrease in the use of the product.

The tax helped pay for anti smoking ads and education. Same should be done for food.

 

[Pirata]

cigarettes on the rise

 

[Merge]

cigarettes on the rise

And then went down in 2016 if you look further.

You know trend lines don't always point straight in one direction though, right?

Cigarette usage is down considerably post tax and anti smoking efforts.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6548a1.htm

 

[Pirata]

The point of my last two posts was that there is a segment of the population that is unaffected by economic consequence. They will find a way to screw themselves up whether it be cigs, alcohol, drugs, food, lack of exercise, gambling, etc.

I do not subscribe to the belief that the government can or should legislate utopia. Last guy that tried that died in a bunker in Berlin.

 

[Merge]

The point of my last two posts was that there is a segment of the population that is unaffected by economic consequence. They will find a way to screw themselves up whether it be cigs, alcohol, drugs, food, lack of exercise, gambling, etc.

I do not subscribe to the belief that the government can or should legislate utopia. Last guy that tried that died in a bunker in Berlin.

A tax on cigarettes (and for this conversation unhealthy food) = Hitler? You think the government should just sit back and watch people kill themselves? Hundreds of thousands of people die every year from heart disease directly related to a poor diet. A few hundred thousand more die from cigarette use every year. If you're trying to find a Hitler comparison it's sitting back and doing nothing in this case.

No one is talking about utopia.

If you decide that you want to destroy your body despite all of the health warnings and additional healthcare costs associated with treating you, I have absolutely no problem with a heavy tax to discourage use, help fund educational programs and provide additional tax revenue to your state.

 

[Pirata]

The point of my last two posts was that there is a segment of the population that is unaffected by economic consequence. They will find a way to screw themselves up whether it be cigs, alcohol, drugs, food, lack of exercise, gambling, etc.