Yesterday, I wrote about how behavioral economics doesn’t seem to do much for getting people to be smarter about what they’re eating. But because policy is so hard to implement, politicians don’t try to do introduce the kind of legislation that could actually make a difference.

Years ago, I’ll bet people said the cigarettes were bad for you. People knew this, but continued to smoke anyway. Thank goodness those days are behind us right? It took a generation of publicity announcements to get people off of smoking, but in the mean time taxes were introduced as a means of curbing some smoker’s desires. The effectiveness can be argued, but it surely works for some, especially if the tax revenues are used for awareness.

Which brings me back to fat people. I am myself, not skinny. I’m not fat, but I’m definetly in that “I’m married and don’t have to try anymore” category. My biggest vice is ice cream, which has plenty of sugar and fat. For other people their vice is steak, or doughnuts, or beer. Whatever it is, many of us have something that we take in too much of, and it adds pounds. Obviously, putting calorie information on packaging doesn’t work, I look at the calories every time I buy ice cream. But I do believe there is some kind of tax that would keep me from eating as much ice cream.

Fat tax.

Fat tax can come in many forms. A tax on high fructose corn syrup, fat, calories, desserts, whatever. But I have a different system in mind. Volunteer yourself to join a government program where you are weighed and measured for fat content. You pay a tax of a certain amount over an “ideal” amount. Next year, you go back and do it again. If you are still above the “ideal” you pay a tax again, proportionate to what is ideal. Once you get below the ideal amount, the goverment starts paying you in the form of tax breaks. But the deal is you have to continue to do the checkup every year to get the break. If you stop coming, you don’t get the break.

The fat people paying the tax would offset the skinny people getting a break. And of course, if you’re already skinny, you can get in on the game to make sure you stay skinny. There would be a downside limit to keep anorexics from bankrupting the program.

I know this system isn’t perfect, and there are plenty of ways to game it. But there are ways to game any system. Maybe a tax on calories or sugar would be better. You can use to the revenue to subsidize healthy foods, making it cheaper for people that can’t afford it. I currently pay $1.80/lbs for apples, I’d buy more if it were $1. Same goes for lettuce, I love salads.

The reason I like my system is that it’s opt-in. And if you don’t think huge people will sign up, think again. The program would be a one-time only enrollment. So if you ever want to get money back, you have to enroll at the start.

Again, this system may not be perfect, but I am all for some kind of fat tax. It will work on me, but I don’t have the willpower to do it to myself. Bring on the fat tax.

Photo: Michael Dawes

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice.

categories: economics, government, personal