A fifty percent tax will not work, the people most addicted to junk food will pay the same
as druggies, or alcoholics, or smokers for that matter. Face it the only way to get people
to change is through education and incentives and the pocket book is a good head start.
I don't think so either. Huge tax like that would drive food businesses out of existence. And I think educating people and giving them incentives would work. Incentives like insurance companies cutting premiums for NOT living unhealthily, for instance.
Also, gov't could can advertising junk food. Companies have a huge array of the sneakiest ways to con people into buying their stuff. Gov't canned advertising for booze and cigarettes, they can can advertising for foods with high content of saturated fats and the like.
Maintenance cost per unit of operation remain the same. It is the fixed costs that come down with better usage.
You really think it's just as easy to maintain a 50 year old piece of machinery as a 5 year old one? lol That's funny. Try getting parts for a 50 year old John Deere 850 dozer. Most people end up buying two and using one for parts or just selling the one to a collector and buying a brand new or a newer machine.
Metal stresses after a while, parts wear out, etc. My dentist's x-ray machine went down last spring and the techie had to take the entire arm apart just to replace the wiring inside because a couple of the wires had shorted as a result of wear and tear on the insulation. Why do you think people buy new vehicles? They get tired of the increasing amount of repairs on the old ones.