At my local theater that would be a large popcorn and a
large soda. With the stated goal of furthering
the health of NY citizens Mayor Bloomberg has recommended a ban on the sale of large
non diet sodas and large portion popcorn in theaters. The Cambridge city council is considering a
similar restriction on sales of large non diet soda.
We already accept the premise that government has the right/authority
to regulate “things” that have a deleterious impact on health (alcohol, drugs,
tobacco). But, with the extension of
bans to large soda and popcorn one gets the feeling that this “ban” wagon will
soon include large candy bars, happy hour, all you can eat buffets, large
fries, and pitchers of margaritas?
How you characterize the issue makes all the
difference. A government attempt to
assist you in being healthy sounds OK, but government regulation of food portion
size sounds like “big brother”.
Here is my take on this:
1.) Three years ago portion
size and your health was none of the government’s business.
2.) With the passage
of the Health Care (ACA) it is the government’s business.
I agree that if we have (real) national healthcare, then the government will have a much greater justification for any attempt to control your "health choices". And it will.
ReplyDeleteThey made a lot of fun of the "death panels" in the last election and the idea was much ridiculed. But once NHC is in place some kind of panel will become a reality. Some government agency will a) determine which procedures will be covered and b) how much will be paid for the procedure.