Posted on 06/14/2012 6:24:38 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Like I said a few weeks ago, this was always the goal of the otherwise dumb soda regs. A restriction on portion sizes makes no sense when it's limited to one kind of beverage and a select few types of vendors except as a way to inure the public to more draconian regulations down the line. Ban big sodas now, let people get used to it, and then if/when the city's obesity rate dips --- for whatever reason(s) --- flog the hell out of those statistics as proof that dietary nannyism works and should be pursued more aggressively. No surprise, then, that the city health board might be thinking about bold new frontiers in keeping you from stuffing your face.
What is surprising is that they're doing it so soon. This strategy depends on going very slowly at first so that initial worries about a slippery slope will ease. Instead, sounds like they're ready to turn this into a slippery water slide. Bad move:
“The popcorn isn’t a whole lot better than the soda,” said Bruce Vladeck, a senior adviser at Nexera Consulting and one of the mayor’s appointees to the 11-member board.
The board yesterday agreed to put Bloomberg’s big-soda ban up for a public hearing July 24, but also talked about the merits of limiting other high-calorie treats.
A large tub of movie-theater popcorn has up to 1,650 calories.
“There are certainly milkshakes and milk-coffee beverages that have monstrous amounts of calories . . . and I’m not so sure what the rationale is not to include those,” said member Dr. Joel Forman, a pediatrics professor at Mount Sinai.
The rationale for skipping milkshakes — for now — is, I guess, that there’s some nutritional benefit to milk-based drinks whereas soda is pure crapola. But of course, it’s not the milk that’s doing the heavy caloric lifting in the average latte syrup bomb, it’s the sugar. Why not drop a portion-size restriction on Starbucks too and let customers supplement their lost milk with a cup out of the carton at home? (Why not just ban the sugar and syrup altogether?) Answer: Because the well-educated diet-minded liberals who sneer at soda consumption kind of enjoy their morning mochaccinos, and if the state starts coming after that now, then Bloomberg might have a real backlash on his hands. Paternalism’s for the rubes, not for the overclass.
The good news is that even in deep blue NYC, 51 percent oppose the soda ban. The bad news is that the future looks grim. Note the spread among age groups when New Yorkers were asked whether they support the ban or not:
Some of that may be due to older residents having grown up drinking soda as a staple whereas younger adults had more options at the supermarket, but that doesn’t explain all of it. As you’re about to see, there’s a similar spread on the broader question of whether “government should be getting involved in people’s eating and drinking habits to fight obesity”:
You’ve got a clear majority overall in support for that one overall despite strong opposition from seniors (libertarian grandmas!), which makes me wonder if part of the reason New Yorkers don’t like the soda ban is because it doesn’t go far enough. In any case, the fact that young adults are more gung-ho than other groups for this sort of meddling cretinism proves how effective the left’s messengers can be when they seize on some new health problem and hammer and hammer and hammer at it. New Yorkers have been listening to Bloomberg and his liberal allies in the media whine about obesity for years; go figure that kids who grew up here listening to it would start to bend because of it. Bear all of this in mind when the Supreme Court’s ruling on ObamaCare drops in a week or two, as we’ll be hearing again about how paranoid those wingnuts are to worry about Congress passing some sort of “broccoli mandate.”
They could probably ban STAR-BUCKS............those lattes are like nuclear weapons of ass construction............
At this rate the only thing New Yorkers are going to be able to eat are fruits, nuts, and twigs!
It’s called ‘give them an inch and they’ll take a yard”. Folks are allowing this to happen instead of sayubg “hell no” so of course they’re going to impose more lunacy. Maybe folks will wake up when Doomberg & pals go after steaks (red meat), booze & caffeine ..... ‘cause it’s coming.
sayubg = saying
Obviously, more caffeine is required! :-)
Those items are only for ranking Party members, comrade.
Screw em. I will just buy two.
nuclear weapons of ass construction???
Good line.
Happened to listen to Mike Gallagher yesterday (which I never do) and he kept complimenting Bloomberg. What’s up with that?
He was against the stupid ban but insisted Bloomberg is a good mayor.
How long will it be before obese people are really punished?
Denied health care or charged extra premiums?
Maybe even fined?
Breast feeding will now only be allowed for B cups or smaller.
Hey, the NY City commies elected a Nazi and they are getting what they wanted and deserved. I just wish those of us in Upstate/Western NY could divest ourselves of that cesspool to our South East.
We have nothing in common with those people and they deserve a state of their own. Unfortunately we cannot out vote them so we are stuck with that boil on the butt of our state.
RE: Secession
Suffolk County Comptroller Joseph Sawicki, says Long Island is being seriously under-compensated by the state for the taxes and other funds it sends to the state.
the former state assemblyman from Southold, has long advocated that Nassau and Suffolk secede from the state and form their own.
“If the LIA would put time and effort [into] working for secession, that would provide us with real tax relief. Consolidating the two counties into one county would simply “cause the financial problems of Nassau to be dumped on Suffolk,” he said.
Nassau and Suffolk have different histories. Suffolk’s goes back to 1683 as one of the 12 original counties of New York. Nassau was formed in 1899 after the western portion of Queens County became a borough of New York City and eastern Queens became Nassau.
I used to work for a company based on LI (Glen Cove) and was there about 30 times a year. The Island has some beautiful areas although I went through puberty in less time than it takes to get to Laguardia on the Long Island Expressway.
Looking at that chart of age and college vs government involvement sure supports my theory that the ever increasing communist union teacher infiltration into our public schools and universities is working quite well if you believe in the communist manifesto.
Amazing that a country build upon freedom and individual responsibility and limited government could be put on a Marxist communist path in a few decades of commie union teacher influence.
My grand kids will never go to a public school staffed with union teachers even if I have to pay for private school myself. Why do we place our children at risk with communist brainwashing by unionized teachers?
Here is an idea that will save NY lots of money.
Take all prisoners serving life sentences, are on death row, or who will not live out their terms and offer them the ultimate sacrifice.
Become Soylent Green. It’s environmentally friendly, NY will save several billion a year in costs and the citizens will lose weight. They can make each piece 500 calories and issue 3 a day per person.
To make it fair, anyone overweight by 25 pounds or more only get 2 a day and anyone 100 pounds or more only get 1 a day.
Also, think about it. No trucks coming into the city every day so the traffic will lighten up as well as emissions will be drastically reduced.
Of course there will be increased taxes since the revenue that the city will lose will more than offset the benefits of the program. Maybe 80% of salaries to start? Or would you think 70% is more fair?
I think that large tub of popcorn was meant to be shared among 4 or more people.
I think Food Network needs to start moving out of state before Bloomy sticks his nose in the door.
Do these moron not understand they could severly decrease the city’s tourism if they carry this much further? New York is a foodie’s mecca.
Hmmm...seems to me that the NYC Health Board is what should be banned...along with that evil PO leftist $hit Bloomberg.
And yes, but this does not only affect NYC...it spreads all over the state, and then it spreads beyond NY. Time to reestablish the Constitutional Republic given to us by the Founders.
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