New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg helped advance nanny-statism once again last week with his latest fight to impose “moderation” on society.
Bloomberg wants to stop the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks all in the name of fighting obesity. The Mayor was quoted in the New York Daily News saying:
“It’s putting things in moderation,” he said.
“One doughnut’s not damaging; it’s lots of doughnuts that are damaging. All we’re trying to do with full-sugared drinks is to give people encouragement to do things in moderation.”
Bloomberg’s proposal to outlaw the sale of large, sugary sodas has caused a ruckus, but he said he’d heard the same outcry when he went after smoking in bars and restaurants.
“If you remember, everybody was very much against (the smoking ban),” he said. “I think it’s fair to say nobody would roll that back.”
And there you have it, folks… The nanny statists’ plan in black and white. If they can make the public see the benefit or good in restricting your freedom on one issue, they will then move to another and another to do the same all the while imposing their “moderation” on your individual liberties. And what better way to sell the benefit of lost freedoms than through health care.
I cannot help but remember the words spoke by Reagan in 1961:
“One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. Most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can’t afford it.”
Here in Mississippi, communities around the state have been imposing smoking bans on private proprietors, just as Bloomberg noted. As I have said, smoking bans are infringements on personal choice through over regulation imposed by supporters of big government. They may not see themselves as big government statists but that is exactly what it is. Our personal preferences should not be forced on our neighbors as law. We must stand firm in our nation’s guiding principles of individual responsibility, freedom of choice, and capitalism. In other words, hate smoke, but love freedom more.
And if you think the nanny statists will stop at smoking bans in Mississippi, think again. This is only the first successful wave of their assault, merely the beginning in the erosion of individual responsibility and freedom of choice that is increasingly becoming the norm in 21st century America.
Former Mississippi State Rep. John Mayo has already tried a soda tax back in 2010. The effort was picked up by Bloomberg BusinessWeek (yes, the NYC Mayor). A portion of the article states:
If a soda tax makes sense anywhere, it makes sense in Mississippi, said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity in New Haven, Connecticut. The state has the highest obesity rates in the U.S. — 34 percent of Mississippi’s adult population is considered obese — and increasing numbers of children are heading in that direction.
“The fact that it got considered there at all is a testament to how powerful the idea is,” Brownell said. “A soft-drink tax is the only thing to address obesity that doesn’t cost money and in fact generates money that you can use for other important programs.”
Doesn’t cost money, eh? Consumers would feel the pain at the register in short order with these taxes; it would be passed down to offset overhead. That’s just how business works. What Brownell really means is that the funds generated could then be redistributed for other causes within government; they simply do not think of leaving money in your pocket.
What government places a specialty tax on can and will likely be eventually banned using whatever justification supporters choose, the most effective being that of health care.
It is not the proper role of government in a free society to impose moderation of legal products on its people. Government has simply become too involved in our lives.
Nanny statists want to regulate every aspect of your life from cradle to grave. Watch out Grandma, they are coming for your fried chicken. And those church dinners we all enjoy, a tax is not far away. But hey, it’s what’s best for you, or so they tell me.
Magnolia Tribune
