Dakota Phillips
I’m insanely entertained by the notion that way back in the Third Reich, they were banning smoking on the basis that it damaged the Reich’s body; and on the other side of the ocean, during that time, four out of five doctors recommended cigarettes.
I’m speaking about government intervention in our diets. Michelle Obama sounds like John Kennedy when she talks about wanting people to exercise more and battle obesity; but JFK’s U.S. government is not Michelle Obama’s government.
Nowadays, you propose there is a problem and it’s government intervention, regulation full throttle. The fat prohibition has begun. Will there be a revolution because of government regulations? Who knows, but one can bet it would be sponsored by McDonald’s.
Government regulation is, what I like to call, the “masses don’t want to do it themselves.” Laziness and ignorance creates a powerful government.
I say that government shouldn’t do anything at all, but I digress.
The government of Denmark instituted a fat tax to curb obesity; it was repealed a year later after Danes just went to other countries for their junk food.
They didn’t care about health or what the government did. They demanded unhealthy food and found a place that supplied it.
The greatest mistake people make when considering our government is thinking that a government system can work when the rules don’t apply.
The whole system has become entangled in the idea that government is to be the protector, the wall, between its citizens and “evil” big business (think pre-Progressive Era business).
In the past, citizens didn’t have a huge legal system to protect them. Now, however, businesses are a pain to both a hugely overgrown legion of lawyers and the U.S. government’s increasingly invasive regulations. The people cried out for help and now we’re drowning in it.
We live in a time where we don’t need government to help us with our economic or legal needs. Businesses have been put in a place where they rely on citizens as consumers, and the consumers know it.
We are a much more intelligent and informed group of consumers: Our actions can kill or build the industry just by our wants.
The key example I cite is “show-rooming.” This is a trending term where shoppers browse physical storefronts and compare prices online via smartphone apps to find the best buy. People aren’t to blame and we shouldn’t feel guilty about doing this.
Consumers have a right to ourselves and our families to make the best economic decision. It is up to the market to adjust and evolve with progress, or die off (think natural selection).
The time has come for private industry to take over for these government regulations. These industries are the best bet citizens the United States have to improve the economy and restrict government control.
