Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on October 6, 2005

Click here to view bill details.

Whenever the legislature takes up a crusade for our own good, you never have to dig too deep to find the hidden tax increase. Whether it's saving us from Canadian trash, waging war on water bottles, or taxing traffic tickets or cigarettes, legislators of both parties are never so eager to do good as when they can do well by their favorite governmental programs. In House Bill 4265, Rep. Lemmons III wants schools to measure kids' body-fat index and send the results home on "health report cards" to combat an alleged epidemic of child obesity. In HB 5264, he wants to add 2 per cent to your bill at all "fast food" restaurants. Presumably being told that your kid is a bloater will make you feel good about paying this additional tax the next time you take the family to a hambuger stand, and discourage you from super-sizing both your meal and your offspring. The proceeds will be spent to propagandize against fat kids. An even bigger, greasier hamburger, ordered from a waiter instead of from a teenager behind a counter, won't be subject to the tax. Lower-middle-class diners will pay a heftier part of this tax than will the upper crust. That's by design. Not only do those people tend toward the portly side, there are more of them than rich people, making them a fatter target for the legislature. This is another example of the modern technique of demonization: whenever you see a campaign against some social evil, the odds are good that a plump target is being primed for taxation. Are your kids fat? Obviously, you need to be taxed until you stop feeding them so much!

What is it about democrats and their fixation in, more or less, telling people what is and is not good for them (see Rep. Accavitti's HB 4097 for more of what I'm referring to). Hopefully this, as well as other bills like it, will die in committee.

Why should Michigan legislature tax the foods that are exploiting the public? This is not the answer to the obesity epidemic in America today. First fat is not a culprit of obesity. Nutrition 101, sugar is the enemy to childhood obesity and early juvenile diabetes. The genetically modified corn that is used to manufacture high fructose corn syrup is what must be removed from the American diet. I understand the soda pop industry meets with the tobacco industry researchers to identify how HFCS addiction is increasing their gross sales. It is known that the more HFCS one consumes the more of this addictive substance a person will crave. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ The soda pop industry gets rich and the rest of us get fat and sick. Who is going to pay for the increase in our health care?

Hey if moms want to got to the golden arches who are we to stop em?

It don't matter how fat a person is! I have seen perfectly skinny athletic people drop dead of a heart attack while jogging on a bike path. My brother in law perfectly skinny physically fit doctor drop dead of a massive heart attack while taking one step into his office. They defibrilated him with no success write in the doctors office. Those people are just a bunch of arrogant know it all omnicient wanna bees. I knew a family of three brothers one weighed 500 pounds, the other weigh around 450 and the last wieghed 400 pounds. They would clean out bars, one threw seven state cops over a 5 foot pine tree in a fight and they all lived to be at least 68 years old the olded died at 72 Fat has nothing to do with it! Its genetics! When your code trips- you croke! weight doesn't matter.

LaMar, a burger tax won't do it. The evil burger industry is too sneaky. Let's pass a death penalty for anyone selling hamburger less than 90% lean. Or perhaps confiscate all cattle. Or make feeding children lasagne prima facia proof of child abuse, requiring the state to place children in foster care under certified lean foster parents. Why not pass a new licensing law to work in a fast-food restaurant? Then you can limit the number of workers, tax them with new license fees, require that they be surly and abuse overweight customers so that the customers will feel bad and not order the obesity causing burger. If you need any more help coming up with ineffective, stupid, demeaning inane laws, let me know. I think I've figured out how you do it by now.

Hey Lamar, Its bad enough that you have your hand in my wallet, now you want to get into my stomach. You just don't get it. NO NEW TAXES!!!

I think mandatory drug testing or minimum mental level standards for legislators would be instrumental in preventing prevent stupid legislation like this from ever coming to light. Someone said, stupid is as stupid does. I would like to add:Like father-like son.

Where will Citizen Joe get his job if he is required to get a license to flip burgers? At least the state can make money on the license, it could help spur the economy.

Now that Delphi is down Michigan must do something to balance the budget.

From what the research says it is not, fat it is sugar. We have become free-market fundamentalist allowing the oligarchs in the economy to trivialize the interest of the consumer to Socratic questioning when the answer is before our eyes.

Are you out of your mine why should I have to pay extra at a fast food restrant just because a FAT person cannot stop eating.This is the stupped thing I have ever heard.You must be FAT yourself to ask us tax payer to foot a bill to feed the Fat.

They know what's good for you. Just listen to the nanny and you'll be much happier.NOT These folks need to get a life and try to get a real job in the real world and make payments just like real people....Fat Chance

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY! I know this might be a new concept to most of the democrats and libs but it works. What makes you fat is laziness! Nintendo will make your kid fat. Too much tv will make you and your kid fat.

'The bill does not specify how that money should be used.' Hoo boy! Open season on whatever hits their fancy. LaMar should get with Sen. Bev Hammerston in creating programs which 'are good for us.' Then it can be bi-partisan legislation. They both have too much time on their hands. Who said the circus left town?

First and foremost what concerns me is that this bill will allow for yet another tax that those of us blue collar workers can not afford. For clarification here, my family and I do not eat at Fast Food Restaurants but maybe once a month and that is a special treat. We can not afford to eat there more than that. Secondly, this proposed tax plan does not have a specific purpose defined. Is it not possible then that we will have a pile of tax dollars and then debate about what is the best use of this moeny to prevent child obesity. My suggestions to you, if you are truly concerned about the safety and health of these children, why don't we utilize the social workers that we, the taxpayers are paying their salary, to educate the parents. If the parents do not want education, then it is time to go after them for child endangerment. This may seem far fetched, but look at the bills that have recently passed. You have to ticked parents because they will not buckle thier kids up or even put them into car seats. Should the state be concerned about child safety, let's not add yet another program for these children by taxing people that can not afford any more tax, let's put the responsibility back on the parents to take care of their children like they should! I do not think that tax payers can support any more people, especially people that have the ability to do something about their obesity.

Go ahead and increase the cigarette tax, too. Thank you for looking out for our health and our children. Very thoughtful. Sorry others can't recognize it. It makes me so mad to see parents who could be saving for their kids' college spending money on cigarettes and setting a poor example for their kids. Sometimes you need to make the tough decisions for people's own good. I support this. Good luck getting some money to keep our Great Lakes and Water Sheds clean, too.

The state has no business telling any of us citizens what we should be eating, or how much for that matter. Why don't you worry about your family, and let us worry about ours.

Save money of health care for businesses

because they feel that we are sheeple, and need to be tended.