If Only the Republicans were Like the Tories

David Cameron, the prime minister of Great Britain, backs a Danish style "fat tax."   In case you didn't know, the Tories are the party of Margaret Thatcher, the equivalent of our Republican party but far more pragmatic.  

As Cameron sees it, this is an fat is economic problem for his country.   Unlike the US, Great Britain guarantees health care for all, having the largest single payer system in the world, and he knows that costs are going to soar if obesity soars. 

According to the  Daily Mail:

The tax – being considered at a time of rampant food price inflation – could put 25p on the price of a pack of butter and 8p on a packet of crisps.

Although no details have been worked out, the levy would target products such as milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed food.

Mr Cameron said drastic action was needed because by 2050 more than half of the population is predicted to be obese – so fat their health is in danger.

But many of his backbenchers will criticise the move as an example of the ‘nanny state’ his party is supposed to oppose.

If you didn't already know the Danes already has a fat tax, which Mark Bittman writes about here.