Reason Writers Around Town: Shikha Dalmia on Bloomberg's Food Narcissism

Many people are accusing Mayor Bloomberg of being a Nanny Statist for proposing a ban on large sodas in New York. But Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia takes issue with that description in her morning column at The Daily. "A nanny forces others to do things for their own good," she notes. "But Bloomberg is a moral narcissist forcing New Yorkers to do things that make him feel good." Nor are sodas his only obsession. During his decade-long reign of New York, she writes:

He has also cracked down on smoking, salt and trans fats. He has mandated that fast-food joints post calorie counts. He also tried (unsuccessfully) to bar food stamp recipients from buying sodas — one-upping fellow Republicans who want to urine-test welfare recipients to make sure they don't use their government aid for drugs.

Alleged public health threats are not Bloomberg's only obsession. Although himself an admitted former toker, he has unleashed the nation's most insidious anti-pot policy in defiance of state law…

How does Bloomberg get away with such ruinous interference? Essentially, by affixing the adjective "public" before his pet peeves, turning them into respectable social causes such as "public health" and "public security."

Read the whole thing here.