In an escalation of New York's war on obesity, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with the backing of the state, has asked the federal government to bar the city's 1.7 million food-stamp recipients from using the coupons to buy sodas and other sugary drinks. Bloomberg has already tried to get people to eat healthier through ad campaigns, restrictions on food sold in schools, and an unsuccessful call for a state tax on soft drinks. Public health experts say cutting extra sugar is a good idea. But should the government force people to do it by saying "no food stamps for soda"? (Watch an AP report about the proposed soda ban)
No — this is nanny-state meddling to the extreme: "New York State thinks poor people are too stupid to decide their own diet," says Logan Penza at The Moderate Voice, and will inevitably make the "wrong" choices unless we "[don't] leave them any choice at all." Listen up, "nanny-state busybodies" — you don't have the right to tell people what to eat and drink just because the government is paying the bill.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
India elections start amid violence, hate speech accusationsTalking Points Narendra Modi seeks a third term while critics worry about the future of the country's democracy
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Bird flu worries mount as virus found in milk, cowsSpeed Read The FDA found traces of the virus in pasteurized grocery store milk
