Let Them Drink Water ! By Daniel Engber

The fat tax is a fascinating and controversial idea where unhealthy foods and beverages would be subject to higher taxes to deter people from consuming them. Although, I can see where there might be merit to the idea, ultimately more people would suffer.
This concept was discussed in the reading, “Let Them Drink Water!” by Daniel Engber. It suggested an interesting approach toward remedying one of the biggest problems we have in the United States, our own body weight. It’s become common knowledge that the US has a problem with the condition of being overweight or suffering from obesity. Today seven in ten people in the United States are currently suffering from the aforementioned conditions. If this statistic wasn’t shocking enough by itself “only 36 percent think they have a weight
The text suggests that we solve this problem by taxing unhealthy beverages, junk food, and fast food in hopes that it will be enough to end (or at least slow down) the cycle of over consuming these detrimental products in the United States. The logic being, “Hey, if it works on cigarettes then why not also charge the heck out of unhealthy food and drinks as well!”. I can see where someone might consider that thought to be sound logic. I believe that it would be a lot easier to pass on your favorite snack food if one had to pay a pretty penny just to walk out of the store with a crunch bar. However; would everyone view this same situation the same way as me? I’d say fat chance.
Now, before we implement something as big as a tax on these unhealthy products, we must think of the people this tax affects the most. According to the text, “its impact would fall most directly on the poor, nonwhite people who tend to be the most avid consumers of soft drinks and the most sensitive to price”. One would have to ask themselves, “Would this