all you fat bast*rds need to leave alabama!!!

Yeah, I think it's all a bunch of bull! There are some people who are overweight and are just as healthy if not more so than those who are at their ideal weight. There are people who can maintain their ideal weight, eat only good, natural foods, exercise on a regular basis, and get regular physical checkups and can still die of cancer or even heart disease. There is nothing wrong with helping people make healthier life choices but they should be taught the importance of those choices not forced to make them. Policies like this are just another step toward Socialism and even Communism; more government/beaurocratic control of society, less freedom for you and me. When are people going to open their eyes, see what is really going on and realize that if enough of us stand in protest, we can force the government to eliminate many of these useless beaurocracies and give control back to the people?

I doubt it will contribute to eating disorders. But the law is ridiculous. The scariest words in the English Language: "We're from the government and we're here to help." Let me get this straight, you're going to charge employees for not fitting some arbitrary weight chart that may or may not be based on any realistic expectation of weight. Even though they are studies showing that weight may not be the indicator everyone claims it is. Yes, people may be overweight and still be healthier than their thin counterparts. This also ignores a major problem in our society. Unhealthy food is cheaper. Go to the grocery store, and compare prices on the "good for you" stuff and the stuff that you zap. As obesity is a bigger problem in the lower classes, this is discrimination against the poor. The least able to cope with this kind of financial burden. As for this not being a penalty, yeah right. The government has finally figured out that outlawing something doesn't work. If you want to make people do what you want tax it to the heavens. If they still persist in doing it, at least you're making a buck. It's amazing to me that they will punish the overweight but the habitual drinkers don't get the same penalty. Maybe you should have to pay more if you have a family history of disease? No, couldn't do that, that would be discrimination. And that's exactly what this fee is. Losing weight isn't easy, it can't be changed overnight, or, in a lot of cases, even in a month. We're talking about years where these people will have to fork over the dough.

Why haven't they noticed that a lot of overweight people are poor? Why? Because they can't afford anything but fatback and grits? Spaghetti without meatballs? What are they supposed to do when you take away what little money they do have? Sure, they'll lose weight. They'll starve. Besides, the "ideal weight" the insurance companies put out is way too skinny. If I weighed what I was supposed to by their standards, I would be nothing but skin and bones.