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This is just nuts

I agree this is nuts. The problem of childhood obesity should be tackled through education and not through a family's wallet. Can you just imagine the cost just to administer this law?
 
while the problem of childhood obesity is growing larger, soon to attain gargantuan proportions, this is not the way to resolve it. It enormously stupid in concept, and will cause this state senator gigantic problems in the future.




:ninja:
 
If you can tax people for smoking you can tax obesity, it's a slippery slope.

Isn't smoking taxed indirectly through the purchase of the product? The only way to apply the same prinicple to obesity would be to tax the food...all of it...every single item that is deemed "unhealthy" in any way, for any reason.

Then everybody pays, though..not just the kid and his family.
 
In my very humble opinion being an old fart I remember when there were no computers or cell phones...or copiers as kids we used to GO OUT AND PLAY every single minute of every day...we were always moving. Playing catch, playing sandlot sports, ringalario, wrestling each other...whiffle ball...handball. Kids today dont even know what it is...they come home from school raid the fridge and park their ass in front of the puter, tv, or text or talk on the cell phone...Schools and parents have a monumental job...but the only way to success is to make these kids MOVE thier ass
 
lawmakers took a shot at solving the state's obesity epidemic.

well - realy - a state can't do much.
Since healthy foods cost more - and if they deny a currently existent tax deduction (technically not RAISING taxes, btw) then they're just taking away potential 'healthy food' money for the benefit of the state's pocket book which won't solve a single thing.

With one in five Illinois children classified as obese and 62 percent of the state's adults considered overweight, health advocates are pushing a platter of diet solutions including trans fat bans and restricting junk food purchases on food stamps.

I support limiting junk and crap on foodstamps, of course.

But not every person who's overweight or obese is on food stamps. *shrug*

How about they take a more practical approach by giving tax deductions to healthy-purchases, subsidizing school lunches for healthier options, reinstating a daily PE class at every grade level, and even having 'healthy cooking' classes for children and adults? They could even subsidize local farmers at-market costs so fruits and veggies grown locally are more affordable - and raise taxes on junk foods and crap like soda, unhealthy juices, and chips - etc.
 
In my very humble opinion being an old fart I remember when there were no computers or cell phones...or copiers as kids we used to GO OUT AND PLAY every single minute of every day...we were always moving. Playing catch, playing sandlot sports, ringalario, wrestling each other...whiffle ball...handball. Kids today dont even know what it is...they come home from school raid the fridge and park their ass in front of the puter, tv, or text or talk on the cell phone...Schools and parents have a monumental job...but the only way to success is to make these kids MOVE thier ass

You know, over and above the lack of exercise, studies suggest that video games and computer applications encourage a desire for instant gratification and can kill a child's ability to pay attention for long periods of time. Additionally, studies have shown that all people suffer a decrease in retention/comprehension and a slower rate of reading when they're accessing information via an electronic medium vs. paper.

I think technology is awesome. I love being able to type up a paper instead of hand-writing it. But I'm not going to have my kids playing video games at age 3, or owning a 3DS at age 5, or learning how to do their ABCs or count to ten through a cell phone or computer app. As supplmental resources, technology is great, but right now, we still learn better through hands-on application (i.e. using fingers to count to ten, etc).
 
You know, over and above the lack of exercise, studies suggest that video games and computer applications encourage a desire for instant gratification and can kill a child's ability to pay attention for long periods of time. Additionally, studies have shown that all people suffer a decrease in retention/comprehension and a slower rate of reading when they're accessing information via an electronic medium vs. paper.

I think technology is awesome. I love being able to type up a paper instead of hand-writing it. But I'm not going to have my kids playing video games at age 3, or owning a 3DS at age 5, or learning how to do their ABCs or count to ten through a cell phone or computer app. As supplmental resources, technology is great, but right now, we still learn better through hands-on application (i.e. using fingers to count to ten, etc).

I have to disagree a little on the use of technology in regards to learning.

My 10 yr old has Aspergers. One of his favorite things to do is play video games... it's the action/excitement/etc. I have made use of educational computer programs/games since he was 6. He learned much faster, and retained the information to a higher degree when using these tools, as opposed to say, flashcards and repetitive learning techniques. He is currently finishing 5th grade, and is close to the top of his class academically.

Without these tools, based on personal experience with him early on, I doubt he'd be at this level without the computer games/programs we've used.
 
I have to disagree a little on the use of technology in regards to learning.

My 10 yr old has Aspergers. One of his favorite things to do is play video games... it's the action/excitement/etc. I have made use of educational computer programs/games since he was 6. He learned much faster, and retained the information to a higher degree when using these tools, as opposed to say, flashcards and repetitive learning techniques. He is currently finishing 5th grade, and is close to the top of his class academically.

Without these tools, based on personal experience with him early on, I doubt he'd be at this level without the computer games/programs we've used.

Absolutely - it's content more than usage.
 
I have to disagree a little on the use of technology in regards to learning.

My 10 yr old has Aspergers. One of his favorite things to do is play video games... it's the action/excitement/etc. I have made use of educational computer programs/games since he was 6. He learned much faster, and retained the information to a higher degree when using these tools, as opposed to say, flashcards and repetitive learning techniques. He is currently finishing 5th grade, and is close to the top of his class academically.

Without these tools, based on personal experience with him early on, I doubt he'd be at this level without the computer games/programs we've used.

It would make sense that a different methodology might be necessary for your son than would be used for a child without Aspergers. Perhaps I miused "all" in my original post. I really meant to say that "kids and adults alike", as opposed to refering solely to children, which were the subject of my original statement.
 
Overall - subjects like this OP here show that government does not - cannot - will not have control over it's subjects to the extent that it wants.

It identifies issues - but some things are just out of it's control lest it violates personal freedoms and othe rights that they have guaranteed us.
 
In my very humble opinion being an old fart I remember when there were no computers or cell phones...or copiers as kids we used to GO OUT AND PLAY every single minute of every day...we were always moving. Playing catch, playing sandlot sports, ringalario, wrestling each other...whiffle ball...handball. Kids today dont even know what it is...they come home from school raid the fridge and park their ass in front of the puter, tv, or text or talk on the cell phone...Schools and parents have a monumental job...but the only way to success is to make these kids MOVE thier ass

As with most childhood development you'd first have to get the parents to offer role models by moving their grossly overweight bodies off the couch positioned in front of a TV/game screen. Take a stroll through any Walmart to see parents setting examples of 'obesity is good'. Taxing food won't produce any positive parental motivation.
 
Can you imagine the amount of revenue the government will take in if parents don't send their kids off to bootcamp. McDonalds will have to file for chapter 11. ;)
 
Leave it to the Liberals.
You must not have read the article posted. Otherwise you would not have made such a stupid comment.

After reading the article State Senator Cultra's plan is to deny any tax paying parent the standard deduction of $2,000 if they have an obese child. That is different than implementing new taxes on top of already existing taxes. Never mind that he has not even introduced legislation yet, and most likely will not.

Even with that in mind it does not make this a good idea. Not only would it be too complicated to maintain an up-to-date record of every child in the state, but then there are issues with how to actually define obese. For example, people widely reference BMI even though there are some major issues with that. Any subsequent equation developed will probably experience similar problems. All in all, a bad idea that probably will not be raised again.
 
Man, if we didn't have obese people around half of our fast food restaurants would go out of business.
 
You must not have read the article posted. Otherwise you would not have made such a stupid comment.

After reading the article State Senator Cultra's plan is to deny any tax paying parent the standard deduction of $2,000 if they have an obese child. That is different than implementing new taxes on top of already existing taxes. Never mind that he has not even introduced legislation yet, and most likely will not.

Even with that in mind it does not make this a good idea. Not only would it be too complicated to maintain an up-to-date record of every child in the state, but then there are issues with how to actually define obese. For example, people widely reference BMI even though there are some major issues with that. Any subsequent equation developed will probably experience similar problems. All in all, a bad idea that probably will not be raised again.

Blaming liberals is just apdst's posting style, don't mind him.
 
Blaming liberals is just apdst's posting style, don't mind him.
I know. I just chuckle that he is trying to blame liberals for an idea that a Republican from downstate Illinois, that raging hotbed of liberalism, introduced.
 
Isn't smoking taxed indirectly through the purchase of the product? The only way to apply the same prinicple to obesity would be to tax the food...all of it...every single item that is deemed "unhealthy" in any way, for any reason.

Then everybody pays, though..not just the kid and his family.

I would say poor families would probably be hit the hardest by this proposal.
 
I would say poor families would probably be hit the hardest by this proposal.

Probably. I lived on TV dinners and canned goods when I lived with my mom. I don't think I had a veggie that hadn't been soaked in sodium and stored in a can from the age of 7 right up to 14. We couldn't rightly afford to go out and buy salad fixin's.
 
In my very humble opinion being an old fart I remember when there were no computers or cell phones...or copiers as kids we used to GO OUT AND PLAY every single minute of every day...we were always moving. Playing catch, playing sandlot sports, ringalario, wrestling each other...whiffle ball...handball. Kids today dont even know what it is...they come home from school raid the fridge and park their ass in front of the puter, tv, or text or talk on the cell phone...Schools and parents have a monumental job...but the only way to success is to make these kids MOVE thier ass

as an old fart i remember those days
and we had fat kids, too
i know because i was one of them

the same problems existed then that are present now. too much food intake and too little physical activity

here's an excerpt from JFK's program on physical fitness for our youth:
After World War II, many Americans worried that U.S. citizens, especially the young, were growing overweight and out of shape. The nation's economy had changed dramatically, and with it the nature of work and recreation changed. Mechanization had taken many farmers out of the fields and much of the physical labor out of farm work. Fewer factory jobs demanded heavy labor. Television required watching rather than doing. Americans were beginning to confront a new image of themselves and their country, and they did not always like what they saw. ...
The Federal Government Takes on Physical Fitness - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

the more things change, the more they stay the same
 
As with most childhood development you'd first have to get the parents to offer role models by moving their grossly overweight bodies off the couch positioned in front of a TV/game screen. Take a stroll through any Walmart to see parents setting examples of 'obesity is good'. Taxing food won't produce any positive parental motivation.

no need expending the effort (and calories) walking to walmart to view the scene. just open this link
Funny Pictures at WalMart Photos
 
You know, over and above the lack of exercise, studies suggest that video games and computer applications encourage a desire for instant gratification and can kill a child's ability to pay attention for long periods of time. Additionally, studies have shown that all people suffer a decrease in retention/comprehension and a slower rate of reading when they're accessing information via an electronic medium vs. paper.

I think technology is awesome. I love being able to type up a paper instead of hand-writing it. But I'm not going to have my kids playing video games at age 3, or owning a 3DS at age 5, or learning how to do their ABCs or count to ten through a cell phone or computer app. As supplmental resources, technology is great, but right now, we still learn better through hands-on application (i.e. using fingers to count to ten, etc).

Tess there is actually talk of stopping the teaching of cursive writing in schools...Can you even imagine that
 
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