24 Hour Gym Bankrupt - Topic

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Jun 15 2020 08:33pm

Cigarette taxes work. States tend to levy them at rates that maximum revenue rather than decrease demand.

We should increase subsidies for dairy and increase taxes on garbage.

GLYC123

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#12

Jun 15 2020 09:16pm

Quote (Plaguefear @ Jun 15 2020 08:06pm)

How does a gym go bankrupt?
Here they are subscription based.

People cancel subscriptions - when COVID hit, all our gyms closed for months. I'm sure some gyms are making payments on some of the equipment still. Paying employees, including those laidoff during COVID. Building ownership expenses

This post was edited by GLYC123 on Jun 15 2020 09:22pm

GLYC123

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#13

Jun 15 2020 09:19pm

Quote (Kamahl16 @ Jun 15 2020 04:37pm)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/investing/24-hour-fitness-bankruptcy/index.html

This affected me for sure since this was the gym I was a member of and saw like 10 locations close in Las Vegas. Now, this is obviously because the virus, but it got me thinking about something I remember discussing here years ago and that would be possible public benefits for maintaining good health. I didn't read much about the virus but I feel like I heard that obesity was one of the key factors in making the virus dangerous to an individual. Removing the virus from the discussion entirely I feel like I've heard that obesity and complications resulting from it put an enormous burden on our public health system. This obviously makes a ton of sense and makes me ask; "what's the solution?"

Working in the food industry I've noticed an awareness of this fact and a precedent seems to have been set on putting a value on public health regarding obesity. For example, recently in Nevada restaurants were made required to display the calorie count on items on their menu. This implies that we (meaning society) "cares" about nutrition and are making an attempt to curb obesity by creating a public awareness of what they are consuming. This seems interesting to me because calories don't tell the entire story about what's in a thing and points out a shortfall in terms of nutritional education in the nation.

As a fatty myself ultimately I have nobody to blame for being obese during my youth and 20's than myself. But I feel like if it had been a major point of emphasis during K-12 to not just restrict damaging items that I would be able to consume and indeed really only had the option to consume most times but also be educated on why those things are bad and what to try and consume instead.

There is an obvious contention between this line of thinking and corporate interest, but fuck them to be honest.

Anyways, the idea I mentioned at the top was the idea of creating a financial incentive or individuals to maintain quality health that puts them at less risk for things like COVID-19 and a number of other afflictions that create a burden on public health. For example, perhaps people could receive some sort of tax relief of financial assistance towards buying food if they somehow prove they are attempting to fight obesity. I don't know how this would work, maybe a system where you log workouts/gym visits or some shit kind of like providing a list to unemployment showing you've been looking to work or a weigh in or something.

I'm sure this isn't something viable or anything but the question of where the consciousness and action regarding public health ends is to me interesting. Should it take the leap from awareness like we're seeing with calorie information/cigarette warnings to more pro-active policy?

Some insurances here provide you with huge discounts for staying active (logging gym entries, Fitbit step counts).

Also, sorry to hear about the gym closure. That sucks, especially if you were making good progress towards your goals.

This post was edited by GLYC123 on Jun 15 2020 09:20pm

Thor123422

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#14

Jun 15 2020 09:43pm

Quote (bogie160 @ Jun 15 2020 09:33pm)

Cigarette taxes work. States tend to levy them at rates that maximum revenue rather than decrease demand.

We should increase subsidies for dairy and increase taxes on garbage.

We should increase subsidy on dairy and vegetables, and remove corn subsidy. No need to tax garbage, just shift the subsidy somewhere else and people will stop putting HFCS in everything.

ThatAlex

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#15

Jun 15 2020 10:05pm

Japan had a "fat tax" that fined companies or local governments if they didn't meet population health goals. I don't think this would work in the US (could lead to discriminatory hiring or firing policies), but I do think the concept of involving the private sector or work more in our health is interesting, considering just how much Americans work and how work can hurt our health.

Maybe the government could incentivize companies to give time during work for exercise or installing workout equipment/coordinating discounts to local gyms.

Of course, I think universal health care would help, too.

Quote (Thor123422 @ 15 Jun 2020 21:43)

We should increase subsidy on dairy and vegetables, and remove corn subsidy. No need to tax garbage, just shift the subsidy somewhere else and people will stop putting HFCS in everything.

That's a good idea. Would have to fight farm lobby, which is no easy task.

Plaguefear

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#16

Jun 15 2020 10:07pm

You guys think your smokes are taxed "at the max"?
A packet of 20 is MINIMUM $25.50 here.

Thor123422

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#17

Jun 15 2020 10:14pm

Quote (ThatAlex @ Jun 15 2020 11:05pm)

Japan had a "fat tax" that fined companies or local governments if they didn't meet population health goals. I don't think this would work in the US (could lead to discriminatory hiring or firing policies), but I do think the concept of involving the private sector or work more in our health is interesting, considering just how much Americans work and how work can hurt our health.
Maybe the government could incentivize companies to give time during work for exercise or installing workout equipment/coordinating discounts to local gyms.
Of course, I think universal health care would help, too.
That's a good idea. Would have to fight farm lobby, which is no easy task.

Yeah, unfortunately the few areas where there's easy solutions you have to tread through a powerful lobby to implement.

duffman316

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#18

Jun 15 2020 10:20pm

Quote (ThatAlex @ Jun 16 2020 12:05am)

I support this tax on fat people

ThatAlex

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#19

Jun 15 2020 10:27pm

Quote (Plaguefear @ 15 Jun 2020 22:07)

You guys think your smokes are taxed "at the max"?
A packet of 20 is MINIMUM $25.50 here.

In America, we believe in the freedom of people more cost-effectively smoking multiple packs of cigarettes per day, resulting in massive downstream health costs for the rest of society.

Plus, smoking can decrease appetite. Our obesity problem could be even worse if we taxed cigarettes more. We should be handing out cigs to overweight folks like candy.

This post was edited by ThatAlex on Jun 15 2020 10:28pm

pwb3

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#20

Jun 15 2020 11:19pm

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