Friday 8 November 2013

How silly can politics get?

This morning the least respected and most read German daily newspaper had on its first page the photo of two extremely fat women and the announcement that foods with a calorie count of over 275 would be taxed higher than other (slimmer?) foods. Apparently that's what has happened in Mexico.

The problem is that fat people eat more and do not count calories anyway - or they are weight watcher addicts (failed) and do not believe in calories!

I recently had so many arguments with an exceedingly fat person who would not accept anything I said that I have since broken off contact altogether, not least to save my own sanity. This person says there are no calories because Weight Watchers have done away with them. Now we really are in the realm of fantasy....

Politicians wake up! If I eat 2 dry white bread rolls that's 400 calories. The woman I just referred to eats (at least) 2 for breakfast - she refuses point blank to cut that to one - nonsense, she says. 2 rolls are fine and blessed by weight watchers. Part of the 50 points she's allowed (herself). Amen!

Now the calculation:

A single WW point is about 50 calories. 2 rolls makes 400 calories. And a boiled egg at about 2 points or 100 calories and a selection of butter and jam on the rolls and you have an estimated 600-700 calories for breakfast, and that's being modest. I have never watched her eat breakfast.

This person does weight watchers over the internet without any personal contact - and we only have her word for it that she did not give her original weight as less than it is - I would say about 22-24 stone (160 kilos???) . She was allotted 50 points per day online - that's 2500 calories, 25% more than a normal weight woman might need on average per day as a balanced (mixed) diet.

So this person is eating 25% more than "normally" needed (assuming her point counting is accurate) and that's just her diet!

I should add that this diet does not include vegetables, as this lady does not like vegetables, and fruit is usually in the form of jam or fruit yoghurt.

Are we still on track?

Do politicians really think such a lump of womanhood would be impressed by a tax on calorie rich foods?

Of course not. Quite apart from willingness to pay extra tax, this person might reach for leaner foods (and avoid the tax!) but then eat twice or three times as much. Are politicians going to control that, too?

The only way to lose weight is to eat less than you need - always, for ever.

So, politicians, back to the drawing board to think up the next nonsensical idea. I have a suggestion:

Cars driving on German roads are to pay poll tax. The problem is how to refund the money for German drivers? Take it off the road tax? So much administration. but the powers that be are undaunted!

My proposal: How about simply issuing the vignettes at no cost to German drivers? You go to the office and collect it on the basis of where your car is registered. NO ONE has proposed solving the administrative problem this way. Doesn't it make you wonder where some politicians (people's representatives) get their brains addled?

And we haven't even mentioned the political system in one famous and powerful country where they are even prepared to ruin the economic system out of spite, intolerance and sour grapes that they lost the last election. I could go on....