NJ Governor is taxing health club memberships!

What a crock!
People should actually get a tax BREAK for joining a health club (or working out to Cathe DVD's---they should be tax deductible!)
 
This pains me to read - I cannot believe that they would even think of taxing the health club membership - give me a break -

Tax the crap out of fast food if you ask me - tax it until its $10 a pop and see how much of that stuff people will keep stuffing down their throats. Tax the crap out of cigars and cigerettes for all I care - why tax things that are benefiting you?? Why not tax the stuff that obviously leads to lung cancer and diabetes?? I know eating fast food doesn't cause whatever - but its the fact that people cannot control their addiction to fast food. It is sad and I do hope those people overcome it......also I work in the insurance industry...and they should start having better rates for healthier people and giving people the option of a free gym membership paid for by their health care provider if they use it three times a week or something..........seriously.....

I don't buy that crap that healthy food is more expensive either. My budget has actually gotten much better since I switched to eating healthier - heck I can get a WHOLE THING of oatmeal for $1.99 that will last me two weeks if I ate it every single day for breakfast - How many times can you eat McDonalds on that??

Sorry ahead of time for the rant - but your politician is WAY out of line!
 
Wow. This is the stupidest legislation I have ever heard of. Did the governor give a reason? I'm very curious because I have been thinking and thinking.... and I can't think of one even remotely sane reason for something like that! He wants to encourage disease? He wants people to feel more sluggish and be less productive in the workforce?
 
<<Did the governor give a reason?>>

Yes, he's an idiot. }(

OK, seriously, it's probably because it's the one industry that's too weak to scream and stomp and make a fuss and make him look bad, politically.

Oh, also, there *is* healthy food on the NJ Turnpike. I had to travel it at least a dozen times this summer to drive to a client, and got grilled chicken salads with no fat dressing at McDonald's every time. It's just the extra effort that it takes.

I did read something somewhere this summer that said one reason that obesity and poverty go together is because people who live in poverty often live in neighborhoods that don't allow them to get out and be active--no facilities, too much crime, etc. So gee, what a great idea--make it even harder for people with marginal incomes to have access to physical activity. x(
 
We belong to the YMCA and pay sales tax with our membership. It's always been that way and I never even thought about it. I live in Ohio.

I do have to say that I think eating healthy is much more expensive than eating junk food. Boxes of cookies, crackers and cereal are on sale all the time and there are coupons for them. Our local grocery store doubles coupons, so the items are practically free or dirt cheap. Produce, on the other hand, costs a fortune. I read somewhere that produce is where grocery stores make most of their profit and I believe that. The amount I spend on produce is insane and I'm constantly going back to the store for more. I'm thrilled that my kids eat it, but I wish it cost less.

Another story about cashiers not knowing what the produce items are - I was checking out with my kids and the cashier held up a regular cucumber and asked, "is this a cucumber ma'am?". Who doesn't know what a cucumber is? It's become a big family joke here with my kids holding up cucumbers and mimicking the poor cashier. :+

Erica
 
Good to know I'm nor the only person who has run into this. You're definately right about the coupons.
 
<Oh, also, there *is* healthy food on the NJ Turnpike. I had to travel it at least a dozen times this summer to drive to a client, and got grilled chicken salads with no fat dressing at McDonald's every time. It's just the extra effort that it takes.>

I don't know that I would categorize nutritionally devoid iceberg lettuce with fried chicken on top as healthy...maybe healthier than their other selections but that isn't saying much. Or maybe things have changed since I've last eaten at McDumpster's many moons ago. I really hate icebverg lettuce. LOL!
 
sorry, I had to hop on and add one more thing...

Another reason that poverty is related with higher obesity rates is that mothers and children on the WIC program have to get foods that the government approves. These foods include; tuna, milk, Kraft cheese, juice, general mills mostly high sugar cereals (raisin bran is the only one I can remember NOT being mostly sugar because it was the only one I would get but then I picked out the raisins because I HATE raisins), peanut butter but only the approved kind - I think it was Jiffy - and... I think that was it. Now this could have changed in the past nine yearts, but there were absolutely NO veggies on the program and the only "fruit" you had was Juicy Juice which is pretty much all sugar. See how much Uncle Sam loves the poor?

Missy
 
Also, look at the difference in cost between whole grain breads/pasta and white bread/pasta. A giant loaf of white bread is 1/3 the cost of a loaf of whole grain bread. White pasta is probably half the cost of whole wheat or low carb pasta.

Erica
 
>Also, look at the difference in cost between whole grain
>breads/pasta and white bread/pasta. A giant loaf of white
>bread is 1/3 the cost of a loaf of whole grain bread. White
>pasta is probably half the cost of whole wheat or low carb
>pasta.

But nutrient-for-nutrient, the whole grain version is actually less expensive. And when you factor in probable reduction in medical bills, a whole foods (especially vegan) diet is less expensive in the long run.

Also, processed 'healthier' foods are definitely more expensive than foods made from scratch. You can buy lots of beans and grains in bulk.

Think of potatoes: what is less expensive, whole potatoes or a bag of chips (which probably contains the equivalent of 1 or at most 2 potatoes).


Back to taxing: along with giving tax breaks to healhy lifestyle choices, the government should tax white sugar, white flour and products made with them, cigarettes, alcohol and plasticware (to discourage people from using it!). Just what I would do if I were prez!}(
 
"But nutrient-for-nutrient, the whole grain version is actually less expensive. And when you factor in probable reduction in medical bills, a whole foods (especially vegan) diet is less expensive in the long run. "

I'm not convinced that a whole foods diet is going to save you a lot in medical bills - at least not for many years. I can only speak from my experience, but my family is never, ever sick and we eat a combination of healthy foods and crap every day. I have 4 kids and they never have doctor visits for being ill and they never miss school.

Picking potatoes isn't fair - they are very cheap. But many produce items are very expensive per serving. Much more than a serving of crackers or chips. My kids gobble up whatever is put in front of them and I'm happy to see them eating fruits and vegetables, but it's definitely very expensive.

Erica
 
>sorry, I had to hop on and add one more thing...
>
>Another reason that poverty is related with higher obesity
>rates is that mothers and children on the WIC program have to
>get foods that the government approves. These foods include;
>tuna, milk, Kraft cheese, juice, general mills mostly high
>sugar cereals (raisin bran is the only one I can remember NOT
>being mostly sugar because it was the only one I would get but
>then I picked out the raisins because I HATE raisins), peanut
>butter but only the approved kind - I think it was Jiffy -
>and... I think that was it. Now this could have changed in
>the past nine yearts, but there were absolutely NO veggies on
>the program and the only "fruit" you had was Juicy Juice which
>is pretty much all sugar. See how much Uncle Sam loves the
>poor?
>
>Missy

Missy, I think it's changed at least on the state level. I know at least in RI that WIC approves health food stores and farmer's markets, how cool is that? And the basic list of what you can get in the regular store has expanded to include fruits, veggies, beans, lentils, etc.

I still think it's just as easy to eat healthy meals as it is to eat junky processed ones. There are cheap junky foods too, of course, but I think those tend to be cookies and chips, things that don't constitute meals, really. And, yes, some healthy foods are expensive. But in my starving artist days I ate mashed white beans with frozen spinach, vegetable soup (made with the "discount" veggies), scrambled eggs with diced veggies etc., brown rice etc. All cheap and non-junky meals. What are low income people eating (and how much of it) for meals to make them so obese? I don't mean that in a flip way, I'm genuinely perplexed by this. Someone please explain.

Sparrow

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage
 
If I may chime in for a moment, one factor in the healty diet vs processed food diet is time. Although it may be as much or cheaper to buy brown rice and dried beans, preparing them takes way longer than picking up fast food or a box of Hamburder Helper. Certainly, my time spent cooking has gone way up since I got on my clean-eating health-kick. I spend my whole weekend cooking for the week so that we don't have to go out for dinner during the week. But that takes a lot of planning and preparation.

Really interesting thread. Makes me glad to have left NJ. :)
 
This is an intersting thread.

With regard to food, I find it interesting and somewhat disheartening to see where many people place their priorities, both financial and timewise. For instance, I know a person who has actually stated out loud that "fast food plays a large part in my [and family's] life because I don't have to cook or clean, and it's cheap". Now I know for a fact that this person spends more than $100 per month on TV programming and TIVO, so you can surmise where time and money is being spent. IMO, these are screwed up priorities.

For DH and I, and several friends with families that I can think of, the money and time we spend on quality food and its preparation is well spent. I find that the time I spend making dinner is where we do the most catching up about the day.

ETA - If you can't already tell, I'm a big fan of the "slow food" movement. :) http://www.slowfood.com/
 
That's nice Gayle. I never cook b/c I'm by myself. I buy a lot of prepared foods (not processed, pre-packaged foods) at King's or ShopRite b/c I just won't cook for myself. Plus King's makes some butt-kicking meals. But they are most definitely more expensive than cooking from scratch.

Oh yeah, & there is that little problem of my oven breaking over a year ago (& it was only a month old LOL), & I have no plans of getting it fixed in the near future. }(
 
Laura - I hear ya on that one. I remember when I lived by myself in my early 20's that I would never cook for just myself. I think my entire diet consisted of "make your own" salads from the grocery store, PB&J, and...beer. :p
 
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