Live Free or Diet!

MSNBC's smart Howard Mortman takes a Marlon Brando-sized bite out of various plans to tax what we eat with a smart and funny piece that summarizes Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown's proposal to tax tippling, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's jihad against vending machines in schools, and vice-presidential also-ran Joe Lieberman's vendetta against jelly doughnuts. Here's a snippet:

Few things are as personal as what we eat. Yet that?s not stopping politicians who want to turn the Happy Meal into the Never Happy Meal. Will future elections become a choice over which politician food cop should be the one to decide what we put in our mouths?

…

The answer is yes, prompting proponents of personal responsibility to introduce bills in Congress and in statehouses with names like "The Commonsense Consumption Act" and "The Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Bill." And that?s how the great political food fight of 2004 will be framed. It?s red meat for libertarians and do-gooders alike.

…

We don?t have to instinctively beef up government bureaucracy. We don?t need a carbohydrate czar. Nor should we stalk Girl Scout cookie sellers or consider nutritional enterprise zones dishing out tax credits for squeezing fresh orange juice.

There are less intrusive approaches to making us healthier. Here?s a private sector solution: A Seattle restaurant, the 5 Spot, is waging a campaign to stop obesity lawsuits against restaurants by having customers sign a waiver before dining on a sinfully rich high-calorie dessert called The Bulge. Now that?s personal responsibility.

And it?s a great way to respond to the food cops ? let ?em eat cake!

Comments

[lockjaw02]

Funny, but I just posted something about this topic a few minutes ago on freerepublic before coming here. These politicians are driven by the trial lawyer maggots of the likes of John Banzlaugh, Dickie Daynard, and others.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1056118/posts?page=18#19

Two years ago, Daynard and his crew of crooks held a trial lawyers conference at the Northeast University originally entitled on their webpage as "How to Win a Giant Tobacco Verdict". Their sensibilities finally won out over their stupendous show of greed and they changed it. Last year Daynard hosted another conference with Banzlaugh as a guest speaker to conspire trial strategies to further fatten their wallets by going after "big fat".

Be sure to read the article from the Wall Street Journal that started that thread. It's concerning a trial lawyers' handbook warning about jurors who have "personal responsibility bias".

Will the government please stop trying to protect me from myself and start protecting me from trial lawyers?

[GoonFood]

Just seems like a logical extension of current gov't control over what we put in our bodies. Hopefully this BS doesn't escalate to Drug War levels.

[Shultz]

Back in the early eighties, the Dead Kennedys put out a song called "California Uber Alles" in which they imagined a horror show of a future with Jerry Brown as President. They suggested that he would have children forceably meditating in school and anyone that disagreed would be dragged away by the hippy secret police. I remember one of the lines had Jerry scream, "Mellow out or you will pay!"
It seemed like such a ridiculous joke at the time, but since then, every time I hear what Jerry Brown is up to, it seems to be progressivly preposterous. Doesn't he ever get sick of being laughed at?

[Royman]

Two quick notes:

To "lockjaw02": You actually expect people to click through to a Free Republic post? That place is a zoo (not to mention one of the most poorly designed, user-unfriendly sites on the Web). I must say I am startled, if somewhat unimpressed, that someone from Free Republic actually visits Reason.com too.

To Nick Gillespie: Real people don't use the word "tippling." Not Americans, at least. If you intend to write for the sake of actually communicating ideas -- which is sorta, like, the point of writing -- it would be wise to choose a word that more efficiently conveys information to your readers.

[lockjaw02]

Awe, Royman. It's not nice to generalize. There are whackos on freerepublic just like there are anywhere else, but there are also plenty of folks with a clue. I know quite a few posters from over there who read Reason. Jacob Sullum is a favorite, in particular.

Anyway, I linked directly to the post, which contains links to Daynard and his crew's deeds. Haven't figured out how to put them in here yet. Just "connecting the puddles" and spreading the word, is all. Most folks don't know many of the things the trial lawyers are up to unless your watching them, even though they are pretty brazen about it.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Maybe we could tax politicians for making asinine proposals? Talk about a renewable resource.

[Shultz]

Back in the early eighties, the Dead Kennedys put out a song called "California Uber Alles" in which they imagined a horror show of a future with Jerry Brown as President. They suggested that he would have children forceably meditating in school and anyone that disagreed would be dragged away by the hippy secret police. I remember one of the lines had Jerry scream, "Mellow out or you will pay!"
It seemed like such a ridiculous joke at the time, but since then, every time I hear what Jerry Brown is up to, it seems to be progressivly preposterous. Doesn't he ever get sick of being laughed at?

[BigPhil]

For those of us who are not well read before 1990, what is 'Tippling', anyway. Does it make you fat, blind, or what?

[dhex]

just a fancy pants old word for drinking. ever "tip one back?"

like that but longer.

i do think the whole fat tax thing may be the breaking point, because there are an awful lot of libs and cons who are fat and love sugar and stuff.

[Russ D]

I think it's funny that some lawyers can convince themselves that "corporate responsibility" can exist without personal responsibility. With that logic, none of the Enron execs will do any time.

[joe]

Why do you continually include arguments over vending machines in public schools in with issues about food regulation and lawsuits? Is there some sort of affirmative duty to sell ho-hos to school kids, or what?

[Larry]

"Why do you continually include arguments over vending machines in public schools in with issues about food regulation and lawsuits?"

Because (optimistically) which vending machines go in a public school should be decided by the local school board or delegated to the principal, not the U.S. Congress or a lawsuit. And if the school administration wants to teach its students to be responsible adults, then the kids should be engaged in the debate and their input valued.

Unfortunately one of the great oxymorons of our time is that most public schools are organized into "Independent School Districts."

[Mona]

Royrman sniffs: "Real people don't use the word "tippling." Not Americans, at least. If you intend to write for the sake of actually communicating ideas -- which is sorta, like, the point of writing -- it would be wise to choose a word that more efficiently conveys information to your readers."

This real person enjoys the word tippling. But then, I am well read beyond the last decade.

[Will Spencer]

The Democrats will tax fats.

The Republicans will tax sugars.

The people will end up eating Soylent Green.