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Dude, let me quote something: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unal
by qb45 13y ago
Dude, let me quote something:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
People have a fsckin' right to eat unhealthy and who the hell are you to fix prices of their food so that they can't?
That's one thing. Another one is that such schemes are really, pragmatically bad as they make people involved in them make political decisions which protect their unfair advantage at the cost of goals important to the general public. Do you really want people to vote for whomever promises to pass bills giving them most benefits at the cost of others? Well, I know that people sometimes do that anyway, but IMO it shouldn't be encouraged with successful examples lasting for two centuries.
And at last - people are pretty capable of getting what they want. If you make it slightly more expensive, they'll simply pay. More expensive - they'll switch to worse alternatives (HFCS, anyone?). Even more - illegal production. Outright ban - sugar mafia. I mean, the US already tried to "fight alcoholism" some time ago and it almost worked.
- tptacek 13y agoThe Declaration of Independence is not a governing document of the United States. "If you make it slightly more expensive, they'll simply pay" does not seem like a statement that comports with economics.
- qb45 13y agoThe Declaration of Independence is a statement of people who successfully fought a world power and founded country which became a world power. I think this counts more than a majority vote in parliament, not less.
- tptacek 13y agoIn the frictionless vacuum of a message board debate, you can imagine there being several portions of the US Constitution that could be placed into conflict with the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps we don't have to pay income tax after all!
- noarchy 13y agoI may move to the US if that can be established :) Message boards are fertile grounds for thought experiments.
- HarryHirsch 13y ago> People have a fsckin' right to eat unhealthy They do not. Obesity, most especially childhood obesity, puts the sufferer at risk to all kinds of nastiness that doesn't kill you outright but is very expensive to treat. I have the right to keep the morbidly obese out of my wallet.
- grannyg00se 13y agoSo just to clarify your point of view, would you also agree that smoking should be completely banned, and to varying degrees, any unhealthy activity should be actively prohibited?
- redblacktree 13y agoTo add to grannyg00se's comment: Should we also force people to exercise?