Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Skinny on a Gas Tax
An economist argues that raising taxes on gasoline could have an unexpected benefit: a less obese population.
By Michael Patrick Gibson
There has been much debate about the best policies for reducing carbon emissions. The most common refrain heard from economists is simply that incentives matter: if gas prices increase, people will consume less gasoline (by driving less), and alternative fuels will become more feasible substitutes (by having a more competitive price).
While an increase in the gas tax remains a point of contention, not only among economists, but also among politicians and policy wonks, now supporters of a gas tax have another reason to offer to strengthen their argument: an increase in the price of gas will most likely lead to a less obese population.
In a recent research paper, Charles Courtemanche, an economist at the University of Washington, St. Louis, provides the empirical support. He writes,
"A causal relationship between gasoline prices and obesity is possible through mechanisms of increased exercise and decreased eating in restaurants. I use a fixed effects model to explore whether this theory has empirical support, finding that an additional $1 in real gasoline prices would reduce obesity in the U.S. by 15% after five years, and that 13% of the rise in obesity between 1979 and 2004 can be attributed to falling real gas prices during this period. I also provide evidence that the effect occurs both by increasing exercise and by lowering the frequency with which people eat at restaurants."
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Comments
If obesity is the target how about putting a tax on
food...make the tax a direct tax instead of some
indirect tax that might or might not have that effect.
Additionally, this sort of foolishness is just what the US needs...more nanny activity from the liberal side of the government.
devassocx
09/14/2007
Posts:59
sacapiloa
09/14/2007
Posts:9
Sure, let's go ahead and further artificially inflate gas prices. It'll cut restaurant consumption, which will make people thinner. It'll put some restaurant workers out of a job, and they won't be able to afford food, so it'll make them thinner too. It'll also raise the price of damn near everything and that'll leave less money for food. Again, making people thinner.
Heck, while we're at it, let's just slap a tax on food directly and across the board. How about an extra dollar a pound for food calculated at the end of every food shopping activity, we can tax it on the docks of the wholesalers, then again when it hits the restaurant dock, we can tax it at the distribution points for grocers, then again when it hits their dock and again at the checkout.
Yeah, I've got it now. Let's just tax our way to healthier lives by making food simply unafforable all the way round. Then when we've culled enough of those evil fat people, we can get back to reality.
Sounds great to me.
JasonColeman
09/14/2007
Posts:1
Since oil is a finite resource, and we're using it up very fast right now, I believe taxes would help mitigate the shift to other types of transportation, and perhaps dissuade your neighbour from buying a brand new SUV.
as far as making people skinny.. heh, all you might need to do is lessen the subsidies for the farmers which produce corn, and give more to produce producers. Make the FDA ban msg, tax soft drinks..
Hell, you could even lobby the government to make coca-cola put little advertisments telling you that pop makes you fat and you should drink water instead, or you could get the FDA ban artifical sweeteners too.
The advertisments on a pack of smokes has dissuaded more than a couple people already.
whatever changes government makes is gonna make a lot of people angry, so they won't do it. will you?
zacyeow
09/15/2007
Posts:1
We cant get to any destinations by walking.
McMillan968
09/18/2007
Posts:38
DJTal
10/01/2007
Posts:145