What should government’s role be in promoting our health? New York City’s mandated downsizing of sodas was recently blocked by judge. In Utah, HCR2, which urges the state to address obesity, overwhelmingly passed the 2013 legislature. Some governments are adding fatty foods and violent video games to the traditional list of goods, like tobacco and alcohol, subject to “sin taxes.”
In the first half, we’ll talk with two members of the Utah Legislature who are also physicians, Rep. Stewart Barlow R-Fruit Heights (sponsor of HCR2) and Rep. Ed Redd R-Logan. In the second half, our guests are two of the authors of a recent study on “sin taxes,” William Shughart, J. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice at the USU Huntsman School of Business; and Adam Hoffer, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
You can join the discussion at 1-800-826-1495, online at http://www.upr.org/programs/access-utah, on Twitter @utahpublicradio, and by email to upraccess@gmail.com Access Utah is 9:00 to 10:00 Tuesday morning on UPR.