ChancellorComputerMeerkat38
As you read, I want you to make note of either strengths based on…
As you read, I want you to make note of either strengths based on the categories below and create a list of at least one strength in each category that you see. Make sure that your list is specific and references particular places in the essay.
Diction & Syntax
Could include things like spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, or usage, as well as the clarity of the writing and ideas
Organization & Structure
Could include things like the thesis, topic sentences, supporting sentences, and concluding sentences, plus transitions and coherence
Research & MLA Documentation
Could include things related to the documentation, the clarity of quotations and where they come from, the sources and evidence from those sources
Critical Thinking
Could include things like the quality of ideas, insights, or understanding of the topic
The Writing Process
Could include things related to the prewriting, drafting (elaboration), revising, and editing
You Can Lead a Horse to Water, but He’ll Still Want a Soda
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Those in favor of the fat tax believe that its implementation is necessary to slow the growth of American waistlines. The supporters point out that as the waistlines grow so do the health care costs. According to a New York Times op-ed by the noted food writer Michael Pollan, “we’re spending $147 billion to treat obesity, $116 billion to treat diabetes, and hundreds of billions more to treat cardiovascular disease and the many types of cancer that have been linked to the so-called Western diet” (Pollan). These added health care costs are not only paid for by the obese, but by anyone with a health insurance policy. Fat tax supporters frequently point to the success of other sumptuary taxes and propose that “it’s only a matter of time before taxing junk food feels as natural as taxing cigarettes,” notes Daniel Engber, who writes about obesity and health care reform (Engber). If the outcomes of the cigarette tax are any indication of what would come from taxing junk food, then perhaps Americans truly can look forward to a slimmer future. According to Lydia Saad, the director of U.S. social research at the Gallup poll company, “the prevalence of smoking in the U.S. is currently tied for the all-time low in Gallup trends dating from 1944” (Saad). Additionally, revenues from cigarette taxes are frequently used to fund anti-smoking ad campaigns, and other programs that promote healthy living habits. Supporters of the fat tax say the same could be done with fat tax revenues which would presumably be substantial considering the size of the United States food industry. Some of the more popular suggestions for where to spend the money include subsidizing healthy foods or exercise equipment and funding nutrition classes in public schools. The idea is to burn the calories at both ends to help reduce the strain obese people put on the health care system. If the eating habits of some are making it harder for all Americans to afford health care, then such behaviors should be discouraged, according to proponents of these measures.
However, those opposed to the fat tax argue that the tax will not have the desired effect and will have undesired consequences as well. It is frequently pointed out, as Steve Sexton, a Duke University energy fellow, that “the surfeit of cheap, nutritionally bankrupt calories principally imperils the poor [because] [l]ow-income households are more likely than wealthy cohorts to eat fatty fast food and to have less access to fresh, healthy food” (Sexton). In other words, the tax would be regressive, further burdening people who are already financially unstable. Critics like Sexton also argue that “a fat tax is inefficient” because it “allows substitutions among other inputs” (Sexton). In other words, assuming the fat tax does have the desired effect of discouraging people from eating foods with high saturated fats, there is no guarantee that they will be driven to healthy alternatives. If any more evidence is necessary, opponents bring up the failed attempt to tax saturated fats in Denmark. The Danes levied a tax on foods with more than 2.3 percent fat, but “repealed [the tax] … after just one year” largely due to the ineffectiveness that was predicted by fat tax opposition prior to its implementation, according to longtime New York Times reporter Stephanie Strom (Strom). The critics were able to repeal the fat tax when they could prove the tax did not stop Danes from eating unhealthy foods, and if the tax does not serve its purpose, it should not be in effect.
These two sides disagree about the effectiveness of fat taxes. To some, vice taxes are revenue generating and a helpful tool in fighting bad behavior, while to others, these taxes would be an unproven overreach. However, detractors are not blind to the growing obesity rates, most will agree that obesity is a problem that needs to be addressed in some manner. Many of the programs that supporters want to fund with fat tax revenues are also endorsed by critics. Instead of reducing the number of calories Americans consume, some of these programs aim at increasing the number of calories Americans burn with exercise. According to Rebecca Gerhart, a personal trainer with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, “the key [to weight loss] is to burn more calories than you take in. As long as you do that you should see results” (Student). Some insurance programs already offer a discount to clients if they can prove they have a gym membership, and that they use it with some regularity. With so many ways to approach the problem of obesity, a compromise solution that does not necessarily involve taxes should not be hard to find.
For the time being, that mother in the supermarket with her two children is still able to buy a frozen pizza with no more than an added sales tax depending on what state she lives in. How long she will be able to do so remains to be seen. To some people this faceless woman is carrying out an act tantamount to poisoning her children and should be penalized for doing so. Others believe she is merely doing her best to feed her children something they will actually want to eat. For me, the woman is not faceless. When my parents divorced, my two sisters and I stayed with my mother. With only a public-school teacher’s salary, my mother fed, clothed and sheltered us to the best of her ability. She cooked proper meals for us when she could, and we learned to cook for ourselves in time, but there were nights when dinner was something both simple and high in saturated fat like a frozen Red Baron pizza. My mother didn’t have it easy, and there are many more men and women like her trying to support and feed their families. There is no merit in making their lives any harder through punitive fat taxes.
