Candy Bars and Donuts

It is a fact that we humans have a tendency to take up bad habits. Far too many of us pick up habits such as smoking, drinking to excess or eating foods that may not be the healthiest for us to eat. It seems that there is always a fad or something to entice us to turn away from those bad habits, it wasn’t that long ago that there were lawsuits being filed against fast food restaurants because their food was making people obese. All I can say is “shame on those restaurants”; evidently they were producing a tasty product that the market place wanted. We need to remember that taking care of our bodies is our responsibility as free citizens. When we want to change our lives for the better we must do it because we want to, we have to do it for ourselves and not for someone else. There is a bill before the state legislature whose author believes would help make Oklahomans fit.

State Rep Jabar Shumate has filed House Bill 2506, it would give Oklahomans a tax credit equal to 20 percent of the cost of gym fees. Representative Shumate was quoted as saying, "Unfortunately, Oklahomans rank very low on national health rankings, and so we need to do more to promote exercise and healthy living. By adding a financial reward to the physical benefits of exercise, I believe we can motive more Oklahomans to change their lifestyle." He also claims that we are losing jobs because of high insurance premiums on Oklahoma workers.

While I am touched by the concern for the health of we Oklahomans, I have some concerns about this bill. Many times bills are passed in the legislature because they are “feel good bills”. I am sure that the people owning gyms would applaud this bill, it would be a boost for their business and they wouldn’t even have to advertise. I know people that get their exercise by doing hard physical labor for a living. Would it not be fair to give them some kind of tax break because they are staying fit? We all should take better care of ourselves. Instead of accusing the wife of washing our jeans in too hot of water and making them shrink, maybe we should lay off of the candy bars and donuts for a while.

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