Seeking to ban super-size soda, father Bloomberg knows best

While the Supreme Court debates what government can force us to buy, the Mayor of New York seeks to tell us what we can’t buy.

 
I think it’s time we all threw up our hands and admitted that we are too stupid to think for ourselves and that we welcome replacing personal responsibility with those who know better telling us what to do.

Mayor Bloomberg is seeking a ban on selling soft drinks in a container larger than 16 oz.   No more super-size Ronald! 

Hey, we all know that obesity in America is a real problem; it damages our health and is a major driver of health care costs. We also know a major contributing factor is our diet including all the sugar laden junk we consume. It is so bad some people are lobbying to ban sugar entirely because it is unnecessary and damaging to our bodies. Most of us do get it, fruits and veggies are good, processed foods, junk food, and an overabundance of sodium and sugar are bad.

So here is the question, it is government’s responsibility to do more than help educate us about these things?  Is it government’s job to pass laws that tell us what we can and cannot eat?  How is it that a government can ban the size of a soda, but we have never seriously considered banning that manufacture and sale of cigarettes? Are we headed to the place where the federal government actually tells us we must eat broccoli (actually I like broccoli and eat it three or four times a week)?

Of course, there is also the question whether all this will work.  What’s to stop a person from ordering two drinks or more likely they will raise the price of a  16 oz soda and provide free refills.

Exactly how should we tackle the problem of obesity in America?  Some will argue no doubt that it is all up to the individual, if someone wants to be fat, so be it.  It’s their life and their health and nobody else’s business.  That’s all true except for the fact that obesity does affect all of us through higher health care costs that we all scream about and the annoyance that can be caused by a really obese person . . .think airline seat.

 Is it government’s job to save us from ourselves? Maybe it is; I am ambivalent on this one.  It sounds like a dumb idea on the surface, but it is hard to argue with the goal. How do we get people to change their habits?

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Related articles

• New York plans a ban on big soda sizes (newsobserver.com)
• New York City plans to ban sale of large sodas, other sugary drinks – @nytimes (nytimes.com)
• Soft drink makers strike back with N.Y. subway ads (sfgate.com)
• Should Congress enact taxes on obesity-producing foods? Yes (denverpost.com)