Remember, most bad ideas that start in Europe, find their way over here:
Easy on the cheddar, chubby! Don’t even think about eating those fries, fatty! Do I even have to mention the profiteroles, porky? Are these merely playground taunts? Worringly, they increasingly echo the voice of governments worldwide.
Owing to the rise of so called ‘fat taxes’, authorities are taking an ever-more active part in what their citizens digest (and what comes out of their wallets, of course). In the last few months alone, Hungary, France and Denmark have all implemented their own ‘fat tax’. And whilst, as it stands, no gendarme will be confiscating your next banana-split, authorities, in their paternalistic wisdom, are increasingly frowning upon foods deemed undesirable.
Take Denmark, for example: a range of fatty foods, including even milk and butter, will be subjected to a tax if their saturated fat content is above 2.3%. The price of a pack of butter, for example, will increase by 45% due to the tax. Therefore, so it is thought, those selfish souls who indulge themselves on fatty foods will buy tofu and lentils instead: hey presto, obesity problem solved!
For liberal governments, it’s a win-win. They get a new ‘revenue stream’ to play with and they get to exercise more control over its citizens.
So, are they gonna tax “diet” foods because they’re typically bought by overweight people?
I read an article not too long ago about Danes crossing the border to Germany to avoid the fat tax. That makes it a lose-lose-lose-win. Danish producers/farmers aren’t selling as much of their wares. Denmark is not getting additional revenue. Danes have to drive to Germany to avoid the tax. But Germans are loving it.
I can see that happening since taxes in Europe are staggeringly high to begin with.
And the next thing the nannies will have to do is subsidize the pork and dairy farmers. it just keeps the state growing until there is no one left to pay for it.
Just goes to show that you can’t pander to everyone.