What is the Government Doing to Keep You Healthy?

What is the Government Doing to Keep You Healthy?

In a country such as America, a government by the people and for the people obviously would have the best interest of the people at heart. The government has many agencies that help protect our security, and our wellbeing. One of the major talking points is about the governments role in the food industry. Like all issues, there are two sides to this one. On one side, there are people who believe that the government should take actions to keep you healthy. On the other side, there are people who believe the government should stay out of the situation all together because it infringes upon our liberty. 

So where are we with our current system? Neither. The government is intervening in the food industry, but not in a way that keeps us healthy. First of all, let's take a look at what the government is subsidizing. In an article written by Dr. Mercola, founder of the health website, mercola.com, he shows the top nine foods that the government subsidizes. The top three foods are corn, wheat, and soybeans. All of these are ingredients that go towards unhealthy foods. When you have the government paying farmers to grow crops that eventually get made into junk food, that drives down the price of the junk food and makes the consumer more likely to buy. Then many people complain about the culture of eating unhealthy foods in America. No wonder.

from Safe and Healthy School food Coalition

But why does the government do this? It's simple. The economy is more important than the health of the people. This may seem harsh to say, but to a certain extent, it is the reality. Why is a burger at McDonalds cheaper than a loaf of bread? It's because the farmers grow the ingredients for the burger, while the government bribes them to do it. The people in power believe that even if healthier foods were cheaper, the American citizens would not buy as much as they would if unhealthier foods were cheaper (as they are now) because there would not be as much demand. Therefore, it is in the economic interest of the food industry to subsidize unhealthy foods. It seems as though our government may not have the citizens' best interest at heart. I know this is a gross oversimplification, but the government is basically paying companies to make America fat.

Back to the original point, what SHOULD the government be doing to influence our food industry? Nothing? Subsidizing healthy foods? This video from The Young Turks, an online news organization, has a great debate that discusses this complex issue. 

This video discusses the complexities of the government's role in the food industry and healthcare. One major concept that was discussed was the cost of being overweight. Some of the facts introduced were about work. These facts included obese men taking almost six more sick days on average than others. Also, work productivity is decreased in very obese people. Possibly the most stunning statistic was that the United States government spends almost an additional $190 billion in healthcare just for the obese. To put this is perspective, if every person in America was to pay for this, it would cost everyone about six hundred dollars every year. This obviously shows how the health of the citizens affects the country economically. With the $190 billion in healthcare as well as the money lost by companies through decreased productivity and sick days. 

Again, there are two sides to this issue. On one hand, these billions of dollars that we are spending must be paid for, but on the other hand, it isn't fair to ask those who do not have unhealthy habits to cough up the money. There are a couple of options that are up for debate. One option is to have the payer cover the cost of his or her own obesity. Unfortunately, this means that the entire burden is placed on the obese people and they might not be able to afford it. The other option is just to include this is standard healthcare. It would be possible to have a system where everyone pays a flat rate and all health problems (whether they are yours or someone else's) would be covered by all Americans. The upside to this alternative is that everyone is treated the same and has the same benefits. The downside to this is that people not only have to pay for obesity who are healthy, but nothing is being done to discourage unhealthy habits. This means that $190 billion is never going to decrease. If anything, it will increase.

Which brings me to my ideal solution. Use taxes and subsidies to promote HEALTHY habits. While it may seem that the government is trying to promote economic prosperity by subsidizing unhealthy food, it is also working against itself by causing the $190 billion in healthcare. That doesn't even include the money paid in the actual subsidies. Taxing unhealthy foods will ensure one of two outcomes. Either people will be discouraged from buying unhealthy foods and start making healthier choices, or the government will bring in more revenue from junk food. Either way, the $190 billion will be paid for, or not exist in the first place. Now that is obviously an overstatement but it is certainly a step in the right direction. I also think the government should stop farm subsidies for unhealthy food. These subsidies make it very easy to produce unhealthy food for little money, healthy food companies can't compete in today's economy. If they were ended, that would give people more incentives to buy healthy food, and also lead to healthier lifestyles.