{"id":17781,"date":"2010-05-26T12:29:37","date_gmt":"2010-05-26T18:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=17781"},"modified":"2010-07-12T16:12:31","modified_gmt":"2010-07-12T22:12:31","slug":"does-the-government-have-the-right-to-be-your-dietician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/05\/does-the-government-have-the-right-to-be-your-dietician\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the government have the right to be your dietician?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Thomas Molitor<\/p><\/div>\n

In the intellectual battle for liberty, sometimes it\u2019s a good idea to skip the latest high-brow attack on capitalism from the left or right and instead poke fun at a ridiculous news article.<\/p>\n

The article \u201cSoda Tax Uncaps a Fight,\u201d published May 23 in the Wall Street Journal<\/a>, provides a perfect target.<\/p>\n

The article says makers and sellers of soda and other sweet drinks have intensified a fight against proposed taxes on their products, as a growing number of cities and states are weighing the measures to help fill depleted coffers.<\/p>\n

Some states and cities debating new beverage taxes in 2010 include New Mexico, listed in the category of \u201cproposed.\u201d The only two states that have approved such a soda tax are Washington and Colorado. Several other states have existing small taxes on soft drinks, but those stirring controversy are the proposals for new, larger taxes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Industry officials argue that taxes on soft drinks would penalize consumers at a time when people are already struggling and may lead to lost jobs for bottlers and distributors.<\/p>\n

The article informs us of new reports in \u201cscientific journals\u201d that state that there\u2019s \u201csolid evidence to the theory that soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks don\u2019t just go hand-in-hand with obesity, but actually cause it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do we really need scientists to tell us that when two things happen at the same time, it suggests that there might be a cause-and-effect relationship? And, I\u2019m sorry to say for these scientists that mere association is never ever proof of causation. The other \u201ccriterion\u201d besides the \u201cparallel trends\u201d would be the complete absence of kids who drink soda and don\u2019t gain weight.<\/p>\n

Of course, such counterexamples exist: There are indeed people who drink a lot of soda and aren\u2019t obese. Whoops, there goes the possible proof of a strict cause-and-effect relationship.<\/p>\n

Where does it end?<\/h3>\n

Before continuing, I note with dismay that I am old enough to remember when libertarians and conservatives would object to government interference with tobacco and alcohol by asking, \u201cWhat\u2019s next? Will the government start taxing fatty foods and put warning labels on fettuccine alfredo?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I starting thinking, \u2018Where does arbitrary application and random taxation end?\u201d<\/p>\n

Should we tax the Hollywood movies studios for producing products that obviously dumb down our experience of being human and limit our insight into what is and what isn\u2019t important to having a social conscious?<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re at it, I have a strong hunch that plastic forks cause people to eat unhealthful offerings at Taco Bell. Should we impose an excise tax on plastic forks?<\/p>\n

The arbitrary taxation of certain categories of products and lifestyle experiences is clearly a matter of liberty.<\/p>\n

But Gov. Gregoire of the state of Washington says he is trying to keep key state government services by taxing \u201cdiscretionary purchases\u201d to help plug a $2.8 billion budget gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings like cigarettes, candy and gum, bottled water and pop – I don’t think those things are going to hurt the economic recovery for consumers or the state,\u201d Gregoire says.<\/p>\n

It appears to me that it is open hunting season for politicians on \u201cdiscretionary purchases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Future invasions of liberty<\/h3>\n

Why aren\u2019t more taxpayers questioning the government\u2019s authority to regulate against issues such as obesity? Is it the government\u2019s role to regulate obesity? If we tax products that are high in calories, shouldn\u2019t we also subsidize products that aren\u2019t, such as vegetables?<\/p>\n

Even so, it\u2019s depressing that in an article in the Wall Street Journal, no one even mentioned the fact that consumers have a right to drink or eat whatever they please. Why should they be taxed on their consumptive preferences?<\/p>\n

Beyond the injustice of more legal looting every time you buy a soda, these proposals would be yet more precedent for future government invasions of liberty. In 20 years, when someone proposes that slothful internet viewing be regulated, some scientist will no doubt say, \u201cWe did it with Coke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molitor<\/em><\/a> is a Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives, District 23.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why aren\u2019t more taxpayers questioning the government\u2019s authority to regulate against issues such as obesity? Is it the government\u2019s role to regulate obesity? If we tax products that are high in calories, shouldn\u2019t we also subsidize products that aren\u2019t, such as vegetables?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16,182],"tags":[108,118,107],"class_list":["post-17781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","category-molitor-columns","tag-2010-election","tag-economy","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17781\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}