Many years ago a popular comic strip appearing in newspapers (remember them?) from coast-to-coast was used to demonstrate the impact of everyday pollution. It showed the title character, Pogo–a possum, as having to walk through a forested glen over all kinds of human-produced trash…cans, bottles, boxes, etc. After much desperation he uttered the words “we have met the enemy and he is us”. The obvious meaning is that we created this mess and we have no one to blame but ourselves. Fast forward to today. The political world is full of tariff talk. Much of this talk is inaccurately aimed at foreign competition. But the real culprit here is our standard of living. Americans enjoy the highest and most stable life style of any country on earth. We take much of it for granted and that’s a big mistake. Let’s focus on just one major element of our cost of living–the obesity epidemic. America is in the top ten ranking of all countries when it comes to obesity rates. Experts blame up to 40% of all medical costs and cost growth on obesity, We have only to look at the media sources for serious weight issues among the general population. Even medical professionals are often overweight. When we add drug abuse, alcoholism, dangerous hobbies, not using seat belts, and a host of other bad choices to the list it is clear that “we have met the enemy and he is us”. Milliman, a highly respected employee benefits consulting firm, estimates healthcare costs for an American family to reach $35,119 per year in 2025. Think about it–that’s nearly $17/hour for a 40 hour/week schedule. That’s more the Federal minimum salary wage of $15/hour. The average family would be bankrupt if employers and the Federal government didn’t pick up part of the that cost. We spend more to stay healthy than we do to pay all of our other bills. To back this up, America is in the top 10 highest obesity rates among all countries. In contrast, the lowest obesity rate countries have by far the highest life expectancy ages. It therefore concludes that obesity causes more health problems and premature deaths than almost any other poor decision. Yes’ “we have indeed met the enemy and he is definitely us”. Until we change our self-destructive health habits we will continue to lag behind every country that doesn’t need to pay for remedying negative physical and mental self-abuse. That’s a self-imposed tariff on the price of every product “made in America”.
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