June 13, 2008
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Metabo
For those who may not yet know, Japan is being slowly depopulated. The ratio of retired persons to people in the workforce is increasing due to really low birthrates. At any rate, the government of Japan has become increasingly concerned about people being overweight. Part of the reason being that Japan has government supplied medical care. So they make it illegal to be overweight.
Those exceeding government limits — 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, which are identical to thresholds established in 2005 for Japan by the International Diabetes Federation as an easy guideline for identifying health risks — and having a weight-related ailment will be given dieting guidance if after three months they do not lose weight. If necessary, those people will be steered toward further re-education after six more months.
To reach its goals of shrinking the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years and 25 percent over the next seven years, the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets. The country’s Ministry of Health argues that the campaign will keep the spread of diseases like diabetes and strokes in check.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/world/asia/13fat.html?no_interstitial
The condition of being overweight is being referred to as “metabo” which is short for metabolic syndrome. The Japanese government is going to be leaning on businesses and local governments to reduce their overweight population by 10% over the next 4 years. So there is some complaining about how this is an attempt to desocialize medical care (which is fine because it never should have been socialized in the first place), but the fact of the matter is that when someone else is paying your bills then it’s their prerogative if they want to add a few conditions. I happen to be living with my parents right now. I’m working and finishing up with school, but the point is I’m an adult, already have 1 degree, and I live with my parents. They dont give me medical coverage, but they do feed me (most of the time), so if my dad says that I need to help out around the house then I comply without complaining, because it’s not a right. The situation is the same, getting things without having to work for them is not a right, so people shouldnt complain if the government wants to add conditions. At any rate, I think government funded medical coverage is absurd, and I would rather have it remain with the private sector.
At any rate, this quote from the opposition got me thinking:
“I don’t think the campaign will have any positive effect. Now if you did this in the United States, there would be benefits, since there are many Americans who weigh more than 100 kilograms,” or about 220 pounds, Mr. Ogushi said. “But the Japanese are so slender that they can’t afford to lose weight.”
Why not institute some metabo laws in the US? Probably will never happen because such legislation would have to be agreed upon by the majority of porkers in Congress, and signed by the porker in the Oval Office, but as an idea it is interesting. Personally, I remain an anarchist and I believe that the government which governs best governs least, or doesn’t exist. But I was thinking, we already have the Federal Income Tax which is 100% unconstitutional. Why not replace the income tax with a metabo tax? When Czar Peter the Great visited Europe he noticed that it was a lot more developed than Russia, and he assumed that it was the lifestyle, or perhaps the style, of occidental society that made it more powerful. So when he came back to Russia he began cutting the beards of his noblemen. A rather horrid thing to do given the cultural context, but the point is it was done. He instituted a beard tax in order to turn Russia into a beardless country and succeeded. Now I am by no means advocating beardlessness, but if the government here instituted a fat tax, then it would be a major source of revenue, and the income tax could be done away with. The tax would be in proportion to the persons age and level of obecity. Obviously parents would be charged for overweight children who are too young to work, and teenagers in the workforce might have their paychecks deducted for the fat tax as they are now deducted for the income tax. People over 18 or perhaps 21 would pay a higher rate. Overall the rate would be proportional to the persons physique and how much of an endomorph they are. Can’t afford the tax? Well you sure can afford to eat. In fact, a metabo tax here might have long term sustainibility due to the prevelance of fast food chains and all that. I think that this idea is positivily brilliant, but at any rate, I await feedback and dissent.
Comments (6)
One idea that should be discredited is the radical definition of state police powers as the right of the state to regulate health and morals. States should only exist to enshrine human liberty.
Well, if the government pays for you rather than the other way around they are not outside of their rights to compel you to do things, particularly if they can pull funding as their enforcement method (i.e. if you don’t shape up you lose your health care). It may be harsh but they say beggers can’t be choosers. For this reason (among many) I would never support socialized medicine.
@St_Faustus - That’s true, mainly I was just trying to be difficult. Although the income tax is wrong and it affects everyone, the fat tax would just affect almost everyone. You’re tight about the government dictating lifestyle and morality, it shouldnt happen. But I’m curious, do you really think that a fat tax would be worse than the federal income tax?
@mindflenzing - Yea, certainly true.
Snooksy! How have you been?
This post made me laugh. Can you imagine how much the suicide rates would increase if fat teenagers had to give back part of their earnings just because they’re fat? Of course, with the pinko income tax they’d be giving back money just for working, but a “metabo” tax would be directly insulting to them. Although everything would be much funnier that way, especially if you charged fat people more money for fatty foods. Here is an example of what that might be like…
Fat kid, saddened by the fact that he has to pay for being overweight: *sniffle* its not *sniffle* fair! I always try to lose weight and I always fail *sniffle*. I hate myself so much, I don’t know what to do *starts crying profusely*.
Store Clerk: Well, Mr. Candy Bar here doesn’t judge you *holds up a Snickers bar*, he likes you just the way you are.
Fat kid, reaching out for candy still crying: I’ll *moan* take it. How much again?
Store Clerk: That will be 3 dollars.
Fat kid: But that sign says 1.50….
Store Clerk: No, that’s for non-fat people, you fatass. You have to pay double.
*Fat kid begrudgingly hands over the money, then runs from the store crying as he unwraps his candy bar*
That would be AWESOME.
And you also forgot to mention how terrible it is that fat people can get motorized wheelchairs just because they are fat, which is the worst thing about them.
@Meanking14 - Hey, havent seen you in a long time. That’s right, I remember you converted to Anarchism. That makes 2 of us. I wonder if theres a blogring for anarchists on xanga? Anyways, just kind of so-so, working, going to school, looking for a new girlfriend.
Yes it’s true that the government punishes people for working (income tax) and rewards them for being lazy and not working (welfare). Reasons abound for disliking our pinko commie socialist neo-fascist government. Following that line of reasoning I figured that punishing people for being fat might be a valid substitute for punishing them for working. Although St. Faustus raised a good point about governments dictating lifestyle. At any rate a fat tax wouldnt affect me *snicker* and it would be pretty funny to see something like that instituted. You’re right teenagers are fat these days. I remember when I was a teenager most of us were thin and the grownups were fat. There were a few fat teenagers but their fatness caused them to be objects of derision. And the cheerleaders were something else. I remember back in the day when I was at PESH. My dad had forced me to be in band so I had to go to all the football games. I couldnt have cared less about the game but the cheerleaders were something else. They were strong and beautiful, and they could throw eachother up in the air and perform amazing feats of athleticism like one might see Jackie Chan do in one of his movies. Then one day a fat one joined the team and I was baffled as to how she could be there. These days though, so many of the teenagers are fat. The cheerleaders are fat, and they arent going to be leaping across the fields with their hands and feet alteratively, walking on their hands, or throwing eachother in the air. They’re lucky if they can even do a cartwheel, and if they do, woe to the people sitting in the upper rows. Of course most adults are fat as well, everytime I go to pick out pants its near impossible to find something that fits me. If the length of the legs is correct then the waste is too big and falls off, and if the waste fits then the legs are too short. As for the fat people on carts, that’s bloody revolting. When I was a teenager I used to work in gorcery stores, and these huge fat women would come through on those things and they had legs like an elephant. And some of those mountains were even on foodstamps and WIC! I served so many women on foodstamps and WIC and they were almost all fat but 1 or 2.
BTW, that dialogue was freaking hilarious, yes, it would be great to see such a thing.