Saturday, February 02, 2008
Unintended Consequences
Mississippi legislators have proposed legislation that forbids restaurants and food establishments from serving food to anyone who is overweight, and they are proposing H.B. 282 to define obesity.
Let me first say that I oppose any legislation that bars people deemed overweight from any restaurant. Furthermore, I can't imagine that restauranteurs are very happy with being told who they can and cannot server.
However, I can see how such laws may soon become commonplace, especially if this country ever decided to institute government mandated universal health care. If the universal model evolves as the Canadian and European model has, then such bans and regulations are going to be the norm. Just witness the latest move in Scotland to simply deny medical services.
The fact is that there is an inherent scarcity in these services, and if the government is going to fund them, the government will eventually also look for ways to remediate the use (or abuse) of them. One such way is how Scotland has reacted. Another way is to limit self-abusive behavior that will lead to reliance on medical services.
That is to say, if obese people (as determined by the government) are banned from overeating, and consuming unhealthy foods (also determined by the government), then surely those same people will be forced to eat healthier, and that will save the national health care system millions of dollars. Or, so the logic will go.
This is what is called an unintended consequence. The government will eventually force people to live "healthier" in order to discourage them from consuming a scarce resource (public mandatory health care). Surely, this is not the model we want to pursue in America.Labels: Bureaucratic Stupidity, Government, Health Care
.: posted by
Dave
10:25 PM
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
John Derbyshire hits the nail on the head regarding Election 2008:
Subtract out those who want the handouts, those who want the Washington jobs, those who want to tell us how to live, and those who want everlasting war, and there's not much left of small-government conservatism. Pity — it was a really cool idea.Labels: Election 2008, Government
.: posted by
Dave
12:37 PM
Michael Silence pointed out today a proposal in NJ to raise toll fees by 50%. Some are objecting that the increase is a hidden tax hike.
I'm as anti-tax as they come, but raising tolls isn't really a tax. It's a hike in user fees. There can be an argument made that a toll is a user fee that cannot be avoided. However, in every toll jurisdiction in which I have lived (Texas, Georgia, Mass Pike, NYC), there were alternate paths for travel. Note that I didn't say 'convenient' paths of travel.
I would prefer have tolls and eliminate taxation for funding roads, creating a system whereby roads are paid for by those who use them, but that's another discussion altogether.Labels: Government, Roads, Taxes
.: posted by
Dave
9:17 AM
Friday, December 21, 2007
Innocent Until Proven Guilty?
Read this. Then tell me what kind of country we live in that would allow this sort of thing to happen.
UPDATE: From the editorial:
What (Mr. Ricks) also needs is his congressman to try to intervene on his behalf. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, should involve himself in pressing the FBI to return the money to his constituent.
Amen. If the spirit moves you, call or write the congressman referenced above. Here's Jordan's contact information. (Email here)Labels: Abuse, Government
.: posted by
Dave
3:20 PM
From today's WSJ editorial page:
...Washington officially joined the world-wide lightbulb prohibition movement. The regular incandescent bulb has worked fine since the 1880s, but Congress is dictating that it be phased out starting in 2012 in favor of compact fluorescents.
Now, I'm all for CFLs. I used them in my basement in Connecticut and I have them in my attic in Texas. However, unless they become more aesthetically pleasing, I'm going to have to harvest as many clear incandescent lights as possible and stash them in my attic... er, alongside my lone CFL.Labels: Bureaucratic Stupidity, Energy, Government
.: posted by
Dave
2:42 PM
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