Top Buttigieg donor pushed for federal weight-loss program called 'Cash for Fatties'
This is one donor-promoted idea South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg might want to overlook.
Wendy Wanderman is an entertainment executive who has given at least $25,000 to Buttigieg's presidential run, according to the campaign's list of top "bundlers" who've raised at least that total. She also envisioned a federal weight loss program that she called "Cash for Fatties" in a HuffPost blog entry about a decade ago, Hanna Trudo first reported for The Daily Beast.
In the post from Sept. 2009, Wanderman dreams up a successor for the "Cash for Clunkers" program that paid Americans for trading in old cars for new, fuel-efficient onces. "Cash for Fatties," she says, would be "a program in which people are paid to lose weight." People determined to be "heavily overweight" would enroll in a weight loss course like Weight Watchers, which the government would pay for, Wanderman writes. If they "lose a significant amount of weight," the government would "pay you a fee." If they "keep the weight off after 6 months or a year," they'll get more money.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The idea of the crudely named program is to "guarantee medical costs will drop for these individuals," Wanderman writes. That's because, as Wanderman guesses, "people in the thinner and mostly bluer states are paying for the healthcare costs" of overweight people, who are largely in "Republican red states." Wanderman draws her assumptions from a 2009 study that showed the states with higher percentages of obese people tend to be Republican-leaning. Her insensitive name suggestion, however, seems to be 100 percent original.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How will Israel respond to Iran's direct attack?
Speed Read Iran’s weekend attack on Israel could escalate into a wider Middle East war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikes
Speed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Congress honors real-life Rosie the Riveters
Speed Read These American women reshaped the work force during World War II
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Outgunned Ukraine could fall, US general warns
Speed Read Without more US aid, Ukraine is at risk of losing the war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
House GOP scuttles FISA vote at Trump's urging
Speed Read Right-wing lawmakers blocked Speaker Mike Johnson's surveillance bill
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published