You There! Step Away From The Pepsi!
The Mayor of San Francisco is just the latest politician to presume to dictate what foods may or may not be consumed by free citizens. He wants to impose taxes on so called big box retailers that target soft drinks. Even the San Francisco Chronicle realizes this imposition of the nanny state is inherently unfair and ultimately useless.
We heartily agree with Mayor Gavin Newsom that soft drinks, loaded with high-fructose corn syrup and caffeine, are unhealthful.
But there is also something unhealthful about a politician's attempt to selectively target one source of calories for a new tax - the mayor prefers to call it a "small" fee - to fight obesity. Newsom is raising the idea of imposing a fee on large retailers who sell sodas to help fund the "Shape Up San Francisco" program and a media campaign about the evils of soft drinks.
Guess what? Kids, especially teens, have heard the lectures about "empty calories," but it doesn't stop them from making unhealthful choices when they decide how they want to wash down that Big Mac and supersize fries or a giant slice of pizza. Government could drive itself crazy trying to calculate the societal cost of a bag of Cheetos, a bucket of extra-crispy fried chicken or a sumptuous serving of tiramisu at the end of a four-course meal.
The left is fond of screeching that government should stay out of their bedrooms yet appear to have no trouble with the food police inspecting what is in your refrigerator. The Chronicle points out that the tax, as proposed, would not target the likely source of many of the sodas consumed - small grocery or convenience stores. This is just another imposition of a nanny state mentality that should be causing outrage among voters. Things like this are not what we pay government to do. We should not tolerate this. If you start letting government decide what is good for you, you are giving away your personal freedom. Come on San Francisco voters, tell Newsom to keep his nose in his own refrigerator and out of yours.
By feeblemind, Tuesday, 18 December , 2007 @ 8:47 am
Well said, Gaius. There was also an article in the Chicago Tribune yesterday titles ‘Cupcake tradition crumbles at schools’. Kids in Chicago area schools are no longer allowed to have cupcakes at school Christmas parties. They are getting too fat and don’t know what is good for them. The herd must be managed for it’s own good.
By FedUp, Tuesday, 18 December , 2007 @ 11:58 am
With CA is such deep Fiscal Doo-Doo and the mayor, who appears to have NOT A CLUE… they should tax Kool-Aid… Then the State should be in the black and only those ninnies who want to regulate everything would be contributing something positive…. for a change!
It’s obvious that Gavin Nuisance just doesn’t get it… and what’s worse, his constituents let him get aways with sh** like this!