Raising Taxes on Fast Food

Raising Taxes on Fast Food Which sounds better, a $10 burger and soda, or a $3 grilled chicken salad and water? While convenient and cheap, the widespread eating of fast food has caused many health problems throughout America. By raising taxes and making fast food more expensive, I think Americans will begin to eat healthier, other restaurants will see economic success, and the government will spend much less on health care. When fast food prices are jacked up, this offers people an incentive to make healthier choices. When people eat healthier I think people will be happier and more productive. Not to mention, the average life span for Americans could go up. The truth is, many people are forced to eat unhealthy school lunches or meals because they simply cannot afford healthy alternatives. By raising the price of fast food, I believe this problem can be solved. Fast food makes up a significant portion of the culinary demographic in America. People are drawn in by ease of access and how cheap the food is. If fast food becomes more expensive, this will open doors for other, healthier restaurants and grocery stores. It could also alter the kind of fast food that we serve. While many people believe raising fast food taxes would destroy our economy, I think money will just shift hands and America will move forward. Healthier diets, especially accompanied by exercise lead to healthier individuals. As of now, America spends a lot of many taking care of people with diet related diseases such as diabetes. If we change what people ingest, we will directly influence the number of people with diet related illnesses. When less people are sick, the government has less people to fund care for. This money that we now would have spent on health care can be put to good use on education, roads, or any other number of miscellaneous projects. While fast food will never truly go away, and we cannot force everyone to eat healthy, raising taxes on unhealthy items would