Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, wants to limit how much soda you can drink in the name of health. He has proposed a ban on sugar sodas in cups over 16 oz. The backlash against such a proposal has only toughened his stance. He is attacking any one who thinks the proposal is folly, stating any attempts to block his plans would be vetoed by NY’s Governor or the Courts.
Bloomberg is a hypocrite just based on what he is proposing to ban. The ban just covers sugary sodas. A 20 oz. coffee loaded with cream and sugar. No problem. A 20 oz. bottle of beer. No problem. A 20 oz. Milkshake. OK. Even a 20 oz. Diet Soda or glass of juice. Sure. 20 ounce sugar soda? CRIMINAL!! TWO HUNDRED DOLLAR FINE!! Never mind that most of these other beverages could have more calories or sugar than a sugar soda. Heck, while I was at Dunkin Donuts this morning, I noticed that a 12 oz. Tropicana OJ has more calories than nearly all 12 oz. sodas. No, Bloomberg has identified the next great evil, and it’s a Coca-Cola Freestyle Machine.
By the way, what does a 16 oz. soda look like anyways? At McDonalds, it is a small cup. At Burger King, it is a Value-size drink cup. I believe Wendy’s and Hardee’s doesn’t have anything as small as a 16 oz. cup unless it is a smaller kids cup. To meet these demands, the restaurants may stop selling any cups larger than 16 oz, which may impose a price increase due to shrinking 16 oz. cup supplies.
Bloomberg thinks that by limiting soda intake, he can mandate health. But health is a choice of the people. You can limit soda, salt, and even ban smoking for health purposes, but if people get their calories from elsewhere, and don’t work out, all the laws banning “sin” won’t mean anything towards helping this so-called obesity crisis that everyone claims we have. And you are pissing a lot of people off who sat on the sidelines while you were banning other sins in NYC.
Other politicians have decided that for now, education is a better approach to combat obesity. Some progressive mayor have decided to tax sodas a little extra, but at least they aren’t mandating soda limits. We hope their efforts work. While I have limited my soda intake in recent weeks and changed my diet and exercise to try and remain healthy, I do like the occasional soda, and I would like to quench that thirst occasionally with a larger soda. I don’t like being told by some politician I can’t enjoy a larger soda, especially now that I can get Coca-Cola Freestyle.
And Bloomberg… just because you attended Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and now have a new hospital facility named for a family member (because you poured in some money), that does not mean you’re an expert on health and can dictate to all of us how much soda we can drink. If you think this will help you become President in 2016, you are out of your mind. Stick to what you do best… making money.
No comments:
Post a Comment