Michigan House Passes Ban On Smoking In Bars, Restaurants

ClickonDetroit ^ | December 6, 2007 | AP

[CSM]

You and I are in complete agreement. Thanks for your contribution to this thread.

[timm22]

But if government did their job, then the bars and restaurants would go out of business because they couldn’t afford to pay the salary of American workers.

First of all, I don't think that is necessarily true. The government could protect our borders while still letting in enough LEGAL immigrants to pick the lettuce and wash the dishes. Or, the government could strongly restrict welfare entitlements, opening up a whole new class of entry-level American workers (and saving the taxpayers' money) all while cracking down on illegal immigrants.

Whether or not those policies are good for other reasons is open to debate. But if our concern is simply maintaining a labor supply, the government can do that while still cracking down on illegal immigration.

But let's set aside those better solutions for a moment and just consider the trade off involved in your question. Illegal immigrants vs. the success of some businesses. Illegal immigration is ultimately a national security problem. The larger the number of people sneaking into this country, the harder it is to detect potential threats crossing our borders. Additionally, illegal immigration can place a substantial burden on the public infrastructure in certain areas which are not prepared for a sudden spike in the low-income population. This can put hospitals, schools, and social services in jeopardy with few ways to handle the problem.

Assuming that illegal immigration and the hiring of illegal aliens can be effectively controlled, those are the dangers we would be averting. That's a pretty substantial benefit to weigh against the cost of putting a lot of firms out of business. It still may or may not be the best decision to make, but a pretty reasonable argument can be made in defense of restricting the hiring of illegal immigrants. (As a side note, one could also argue that illegal aliens are like contraband, and because of that hiring them should be just as illegal as a business using illicit drugs or child porn.)

Now it's your turn! :)
1. What's the benefit to be gained from the smoking ban? What do we get in return for sacrificing property rights and putting some restaurants and pubs out of business? I mean, are we talking national security, the solvency of vital public goods? Or is it merely a minor increase in personal convenience?

2. More importantly, why is the only acceptable solution a total ban on smoking in all designated establishments? There are more limited ways to deal with the issue, such as simply going to restaurants which are voluntarily non-smoking. Why are all of these other liberty-preserving solutions inadequate to achieve your goals?

Since you want to get the government involved in yet another aspect of our lives, I think you should at least provide some kind of justification for it.

[Philly Nomad]

Thanks for affirming my belief you don’t know what you’re talking about.