New The York Times October 19, 2006 Op-Ed Contributor
Supertax Me
By MARTIN B. SCHMIDT Williamsburg, Va. THE National Center for Health Statistics estimates that 30 percent of American adults, some 60 million people, are obese. Thirty years ago that number was 15 percent. The trend is similar among children: according to the surgeon general, the percentage of obese youths has tripled, to nearly 15 percent, since the 1960's. Obviously, we face a crisis of obesity and its concomitant health problems. In the spirit of "every little thing can help," I have a modest suggestion to reverse the trend: enact a tax on drivethrough food orders. Now there are many reasons for the rise in obesity, but to an economist a big factor is that food has become "too cheap." I do not mean in the typical sense of dollars and cents. (The fact that that the average family pays only about 20 percent of its income on food today, down from 30 percent in the 1960's, is a positive change.) Rather, I mean that the procurement of food has become too "cheap" in terms of time and effort. Advances in technology have allowed us to increase the food supply while reducing the amount of workers needed to produce it. In 1830, roughly 300 labor-hours were required to produce 100 bushels of wheat. Today, that number of bushels can be produced with fewer than three laborhours. At the same time, of course, workers have moved into less physically taxing jobs, typically spending most of the day sitting in a chair rather than tilling the soil. Some estimates hold that 50 percent of Americans do not exercise regularly. And in terms of breakfast, lunch and dinner, one hardly has to do anything but drive a car and chew. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 40 percent the of average family's food budget is spent on fast food. Furthermore, a recent study from the market survey firm Claritas estimates that 78 percent of all fast-food diners use the drive-through. Heck, even many of the more expensive, family-style restaurant chains now have special parking spaces where video cameras are on the lookout so workers can bring your order to you in the front seat. If the low "cost" of eating fast food is adding to the obesity problem, the solution involves increasing the cost, even in a nominal way. How do we give individuals the incentive to pay a little more -- increased physical exertion, lack of convenience -- to get their food? This is where a drive-through tax comes in.
We could tax the drive-through purchases at, say, 10 percent, while leaving the purchase of walkin meals alone. At the very least, it may entice some to park and walk rather than waiting in the car. Now, this may seem an invasion of personal choice or another step toward a nanny state. Maybe. But there are other arguments to be made. We tax cigarettes in part because of their health cost. Similarly, the individual's decision to lead a sedentary lifestyle will end up costing taxpayers. In 2001, the surgeon general issued a report noting that obesity and its complications cost the nation $117 billion annually, much of it through Medicare and Medicaid. Imposing a drive-through tax would be one way of recouping future taxpayer outlays -- perhaps revenues could go directly to government health programs. And who knows, it could help the environment, too: with one move, we could fight obesity and reduce emissions from all those cars idling in the line at Burger King. Martin B. Schmidt is a professor of economics at the College of William & Mary.