The American citizenry is already used to our progressive friends taxing the hell out of everything they don’t like: smoking, drinking, fatty foods, etc. But now, apparently, the hyper‐​progressive and very cash‐​strapped D.C. Council is seriously considering slapping a 5.75 percent tax on health club memberships. That is riveting stuff, considering how many progressives out there are urging the unwashed masses rest of us to eat our broccoli and get on that treadmill.


The nation’s capital is, of course, a temporary home to that most progressive and fittest of couples: POTUS and FLOTUS. There is a government website with a catchy name “Let’s move.” It features many a picture of our First Lady in a variety of physical activities. What fun!


Not to be outdone, the Exerciser in Chief can take pride in “The President’s Challenge,” which is “the premier program of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition.” The President’s Challenge, its website tells us, “helps people of all ages and abilities increase their physical activity and improve their fitness through research‐​based information, easy‐​to‐​use tools, and friendly motivation.”


The former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher used to say that “the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” And so it is with the D.C. council, which in its perpetual quest for more revenue might very well end up discouraging behavior that progressives claim to want to encourage.


Welcome to Absurdistan on the Potomac!