Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his health conscious movement fizzled out yesterday with a ruling claiming that the proposed NYC soda portion ban was beyond the scope of the powers of the mayor.
This hits at a larger issue: at what point are our freedoms being infringed upon in the name of public health?
Bloomberg's crusade against salt, smoking, noise, trans fats, and now soda is ill conceived. People should always be allowed to make their own choices, even though it may harm their health.
The slippery slope of Bloomberg's logic is dangerous. If large sugary drinks are banned, what about packages of cookies? M&Ms? Peanuts? Large containers of peanut butter sold at Costco? Whole pizzas? Ice cream? No more 'gotta have it' at Cold Stone?
No matter how well intentioned, the government should seek to inform and then let people make their choices. After all, stupidity cannot be legislated out of existence. Government should protect people from violence and harm, but harm against themselves? It is just silly.
Perhaps the Mayor would be better served by focusing on the crumbling infrastructure around the city, solving traffic problems, and coordinating with the MTA on reforming its system so that it can modernize without pricing people out of the city.
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