The economy is dire.  We are in a position where the dollar is sure to crash unless some very strict fiscal policies are put into place immediately.  And it may already be to late.  Borrowing must stop.  The budget must be slashed.  People will lose life supporting services.  That's just the way it is.  And we need to find alternative funding.

I keep hearing that raising taxes on the wealthiest five percent of Americans will have no significant impact on the budget crisis.  My question is, does that mean we shouldn't do it?  And when gas is near five dollars a gallon and oil companies post mind-boggling quarterly earnings (that means over a period of three months, not a year), should we keep giving them subsidies, free rights to federal land and tax breaks?  Hey, it's a crisis.  EVERYBODY needs to chip in, right? 

So here's an idea that will not only address raising revenue but also issues of nutrition, hunger, health care, insurance, medical and drug expenses we face as a nation.  It's the FAT Tax.

This FAT Tax is a weigh-in system of taxing Americans that is separate from their income and other taxes.  Every year each individual over the age of twelve will be weighed and assessed against a liberal height/weight/age/body-fat/bone-density formula that tailors the ideal weight for each individual.  Taxes will be tallied according to difference between the Standarized Limit of Individual Mass (SLIM) and the Formulated Assessed Taxation (FAT). 

For individuals, the total General Individual Adiposity Net Testing (GIANT) is the amount used from which the SLIM is subtracted.  All extra pounds are FAT and will be taxed.  Up to the first forty pounds over the SLIM, each pound will be taxed at the rate of five dollars.  This should raise formidible funding as medical researchers report that the vast majority of Americans are overweight.  From forty one to one hundred pounds, the tax rate will be seven point five dollars per pound.  And over one hundred pounds of weight the tax is ten dollars per pound. 

It is anticipated that the revenue generated by FAT will cause some taxpayers to work to make their GIANT SLIM.  These measures will be exacerbated by the loss of such public services as food stamps, bussing, subways, trains and subsidized modes of transportation such as airlines.   The up side is that as FAT is lowered, the need for health care, insurance and drug assistance will drop dramatically, thus lowering government costs. 

FAT is a viable revenue-producing program which addresses multiple issues and benefits many different problem areas in our society.  It's time to institute this program and make America grow.