No way to sugar-coat it: Obesity is a health risk

There is no denying that we have an obesity problem in the United States that has been growing. In the last two decades, obesity rates have doubled in adults and has tripled in adolescents. Americans eat or drink around 22 teaspoons of sugar every day, which is three times as much as 30 years ago. About 112,000 deaths occur in the U.S. alone, that are associated with obesity. A group of scientists in California believes that sugar is so addictive that it must be heavily taxed and regulated, with an age requirement for purchasing. The author of this article believes that this extreme, and that promoting healthy diets and exercise should be enough to help this problem.
It is old news that there is an obesity problem, but the idea of heavy taxation and regulation is new. It would be interesting to research what happened alcohol and tobacco use when they first became taxed/regulated. Also, it would be interesting to research the "addictiveness" of sugar and how directly it affects obesity.

http://www.suntimes.com/opinions/10468602-474/editorial-no-way-to-sugar-coat-it-obesity-is-a-health-risk.html

Raising school dropout age is not shown to help

It was conventional to think that if the dropout age is raised, then there will be fewer dropouts and more students will continue their education. Massachusetts raised the dropout age to 18, and research has concluded that this has not lowered dropout rates. In today's economy, it seems unimaginable that anyone would be able to survive with a decent living without at least a high school diploma. So it may make sense that any student that is going to drop out at age 17 would do the same at age 18. Any reason that would lead someone to likely live a "lifetime of underachievement" must be a strong reason. It is hard to say what would actually lower the dropout rates.
Whatever the solution may be, this article stresses how much value we have in our education system today. Without formal education it is difficult, some may say impossible, to live a successful life. However, some students may have different ideas of what being "successful" means. It would be interesting to research what makes students drop out of school and what their lives consist of after dropping out.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/cepeda/10411605-452/raising-school-dropout-age-is-not-shown-to-help.html

It’s tricky finding healthy fast food

In this article, Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz focus on whether the "healthy" options at fast food restaurants are actually healthy. They claim that it is possible to find good and quick choices at most fast food restaurants, but it is easy to make foods, like salads, unhealthy with things like salad dressing. But, it is important to be careful because some things that claim to be healthy are actually far from it. It is noted that when actually going in to the fast food restaurant, it is much harder to order healthy foods than order the enticing unhealthy items.
The fact that fast food has become so integrated in to our society has shown how rushed our society is, with little down time. It also is leading to a huge decrease in family meals and is having an impact on family relationships. Although it is good that people are looking for healthier foods, fast food restaurants affect other aspects of our society as well. This is something that could be researched further.

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/youdocs/10124970-452/its-tricky-finding-healthy-fast-food.html

Paul Kugman Societal Views

Kugman's political views seem generally to be more liberal than conservative. He made multiple remarks about Republicans, most of which seemed implicitly negative, as his views side more with the Democratic party. Through his informative and sometimes condescending writing, it is evident that Kugman feels that he must convey his knowledge to the public. He focuses more on the future of our society rather than the present and feels that our society worries too much about the present.

Nobody Understands Debt

Paul Kugman states that the government has a misplaced focus on reducing the budget deficit, rather than the disastrously high unemployment. He claims that the people in Washington are deficit-worriers who are scared of a future in which the United States is impoverished by the need to pay back our debt. According to Kugman, America's debt is not as great of a problem because it does not need to be paid back, and a large portion of it is money we owe ourselves. Although the debt does matter, there are other problems that are more important right now. The government needs to spend more in order to get us out of the disastrous unemployment that our country is suffering from.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/opinion/krugman-nobody-understands-debt.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Keynes Was Right

In this article, Krugman uses the ideas of John Maynard Keynes to explain that the government needs to spend money, rather than cut spending, in order to help the economy. Although Obama's stimulus package failed Krugman blames this on the amount of money put into it. Had it been enough, it would have been successful. Ireland demonstrated how "slashing government spending" hurts, rather than helps. According to Kugman, it is more important to put money into the economy and create jobs, rather than worry about the short-term deficits.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/opinion/keynes-was-right.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Springtime for Toxics

In this article, Paul Krugman writes about the Environmental Protection Agency's new standards on mercury and air toxics for power plants. He explains how beneficial this is, as mercury can cause nerve and mental damage, and for pregnant women, can damage the developing nervous system of their babies. The mercury from the power plants is polluted into the water where it builds up in fish, which we then eat. The new regulations would also reduce fine particle pollution, which is known to cause many health problems. Krugman then talks about how Republicans are generally against these kinds of regulations, contrary to "those who care about the health of their fellow citizens."

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/opinion/krugman-springtime-for-toxics.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss