Here we go again! Is a ‘fat’ tax a good idea or not?One guy says yes because the sugar tax has reduced sugar in soft drinks. The other guy says not because obesity has continued to rise in spite of the sugar tax. OK, so how does a government reduce the enormous cost to the economy caused by obesity and the illnesses that are associated with it? Just taxing on its own won’t work because everyone would leap about in protest. So, you explain that the extra taxes imposed on salt, sugar, and eventually on all the chemical used to produce highly processed foods will be used to subsidise whole foods and in particular home grown vegetables and fruits and dare I say home grown non industrialised meat and cheeses. By making these products less expensive at least those who argue that poorer people would be penalised by the tax would have an option to buy better food at cheaper prices. Anyone got a better idea?
