Mayor Bloomberg proposes super-sized soda ban

As long as we are to be a society that isn't going to just let the poor and sick just die off we will bear some of the costs of everyone's healthcare choices

At the same time, the libertarian in me doesn't like banning the sizes. Instead, what I prefer is a junk calorie tax, that goes toward supporting the societal cost* of the health problems they contribute towards.

*As long as we are to be a society that isn't going to just let the poor and sick just die off we will bear some of the costs of everyone's healthcare choices. Instead of prohibiting people from hurting themselves, however, I favor taxing the problematic behavior to cover the societal cost. It also has the additional benefit of raising the cost of destructive behavior and making it a bit less economically attractive. While I am also wary of "sin taxes" I think on soda we have it ass-backwards, subsidizing cheap corn syrup that has enormous impact to the nation's health, helping pay for it with public money.

The kind of big nanny society would be far more awful to live under then any run of the mill third world dictatorship in my opinion.

So it anyone does anything that might increase their use to health care then it is the business of the whole society to interfere with their choices in life?

BillRM wrote:

The kind of big nanny society would be far more awful to live under then any run of the mill third world dictatorship in my opinion.

This is freaking goofy hyperbole at its worst. Then you know what to do. Seriously consider moving to Haiti, Somalia, or the Sudan. Bring lots of guns and a good deal of money and you'll live like a king. Beware of kidnapping rings because the non-interfering/almost nonexistent governments (pure libertarian fetish governments) there WON'T do anything to help you.

To repeat there is no logical end point once you decide that you need to control your citizens for health care cost reasons until no aspect of a person life that would not be under the control of the government if we start down that road.

Fallacy: Slippery Slope.

Quote:

Fallacy: Slippery Slope.

Not at all name me one logical stopping point once we grant the government power to begin to control our personal behaviors such as our diet for health cost reasons.

PS I am cover by private insurance so can I have a large soda if I care to or does this health care cost argument also cover private insurance holders?

New York (CNN) -- New York City's Board of Health did not have the authority to approve a ban on certain sales of sugar-sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces, according to a lawsuit filed Friday by a group of business owners and workers.
The suit from the American Beverage Association and other business and trade associations states that the city's unelected Board of Health overstepped its power when it voted for the ban to be implemented.
"This board has the authority to enforce policy, not the authority to enact it," said Caroline Starke, a spokeswoman for the plaintiffs. "That power is reserved for the City Council."
The lawsuit also claims that "the regulation is arbitrary and capricious," is filled with irrational exclusions and loopholes, and harms thousands of small businesses in the city.

Take this ad campaign with a HUGE grain of salt!
Here Is Coca-Cola’s First Anti-Obesity Ad, ‘Coming Together’
http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2013/01/coca-cola-anti-obesity-ad.html?mid=facebook_nymag

the intent is to sell you that you can still drink their stuff if you want to be healthy, the result however is to project the image of appeasement, aka weakness.

“They are clearly running scared and for good reason,” said Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, which led the charge to get sugary sodas out of schools.

Dr. Goldstein said that if Coke really wanted to do something to reduce consumption of sugary sodas, it would sell them for a higher price than its other low- and no-calorie beverages. “Instead of spending millions on a P.R. campaign that will do nothing to combat obesity, diabetes and tooth decay, they would reap profits and change the beverage consumption of Americans in a big and beneficial way,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/business/media/coke-tv-ads-confront-obesity-and-sodas-role.html

being a bad idea, it's also a very deceptive marketing campaign. Being downplayed is the entire idea that their product might be unhealthy or harmful

Having a coke every now and then...

So far, the critics of these sugary-drinks aren't buying it, based on their immediate responses after seeing the ad.