I used to be on the freedom side. Now in some areas it's becoming clear to me that we as a population do not have any self control and both sugar addiction and drug addiction is out of control and causing mass suffering
A tax is a disincentive, not a restriction of freedom. As in, if you want that sugar, you will pay extra for it due to the increased strain on the healthcare system you likely will add to down the line. You can still consume as much as you want at the end of the day.
By removing options from people you take responsibility from individuals. Do you stop on red because of possible fine or danger from collison with other vehicle?
If it turns out that there is no increased strain on the healthcare system (because, for example, people who consume a lot of sugar die younger and so don't require as much old-age care), would you then advocate removing the disincentive?
This is way over-simplified. Dying young does not mean that they don’t need expensive invasive treatment before they do, possibly for a couple of decades. It’s also a completely inhumane way of looking at these problems.
Driving through some towns recently I saw fast food chains as the main source of food for people. These corporations are like vultures feeding on people who are not able to control their own behavior. Looking at the people you could see years of overeating of very unhealthy food as they were extremely overweight, sometimes by hundreds of pounds. I used to live in Japan and the population looked normal and healthy. Coming back to the US and looking around me is astonishing and sad.
I live in N. GA part of the year and compared to SoCal, it is damn near impossible to even get a salad. The food available outside of the grocery store is pure garbage. It definitely contributes to a lot of negative ills
Their food scientists and data scientists have hacked our evolved primitive addiction circuits. It's closer to coerced consumption than a truly free decision.
