Why Doesn’t the Govt. Subsidize Skinny Instead of Obesity?

 “A new report released this week has found that, among the billions of dollars spent each year in federal subsidies for commodity crops, a steady flow of these taxpayer dollars are going to support high fructose corn syrup and three other common food additives used in junk food.

The report, “Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies of Fresh Produce and Junk Food” by CALPIRG and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, studies the interesting question of whether the nation’s problem with obesity is fueled by farm subsidies.

In another article is a quote from a citizen: “I think that the number one problem that is causing childhood obesity is that it costs so much more to eat healthy,” she wrote. ”It is cheaper to buy a huge bag of frozen French fries to feed your family than it is to buy them each a nice apple. Us lower and middle class people are stuck between a rock and a hard spot.”

At the same time Congress is torn by reducing the entitlement safety nets, it continues to sponsor producers of food that eventually creates the need for safety nets. Is Congress stuck on obesity because it is cheaper to make people fat than make them skinny?

If people are getting all the calories they need rather than starving, does that make the population more stable and therefore more likely to reelect their representatives? The ensuing medical costs can be blamed on the public and their inability to pay for cures can become their problem.

If the government were really here to help, it would confess that most other countries of the world are healthier than we are because their diets have less calories. Rather than spending more money on defense, infrastructure, and entitlements, why don’t we spend more money on subsidizing healthy food and education?

If we are laizzes faire and capitalistic, make the population healthy and smart and they will take us out of our economic doldrums and entitlement heavy budgets. If the government was more like it was at the inception of the constitution, it would give the states and the people more freedom to create their own prosperity.

The heavy hand of government has led us astray and wastes our resources. We, the people, have to see the light and find our own way. This begins with taking back our health and fitness.