New York Appellate Division Quashed Mayor Bloomberg and The Nanny State

New York Appellate Division Quashed Mayor Bloomberg and The Nanny State

Let me begin by saying that I have serious reservations about any decisions by the New York State Appellate Division. This state, overall, makes the Federal government giveaways look chintzy. Don’t get me started on the Labor Law, which holds a property owner responsible for the injuries of any idiot that falls off his own ladder while working on the property. 

But I am pleasantly surprised and delighted to see the New York State Appellate Division has handed The Nanny, Mayor Bloomberg, at least a temporary defeat. Based upon my experience with the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, I have little expectation that the decision will stand the scrutiny of the Court of Appeals; however, I will enjoy this moment in time when the nanny state has been stymied.

Yes, I agree that Americans have an obesity problem. But, I am not convinced that obesity is related to high sugar soft drinks and even if it is, it is not up to the government – federal, state, county, precinct or whatever to legislate what one can or cannot ingest.  I am a Libertarian by ideology. Essentially, I believe government should keep its beady little eyes out of my house and bedroom, its fingers out of my wallet, and its laws out of my personal business that does not directly infringe on somebody else’s rights.  If I want to drink high calorie drinks, sit on my backside and watch TV, munch on fries and Big Macs, get diabetes, heart disease or bloat up to a size where I cannot leave my bed, that is my business.  It is only because government do-gooders have decided that the American public, in general, must pay for the personal decisions of the individual that this is even an issue.

Seriously, if somebody wants to live a life filled with degradation, let him or her. But, their health and life insurance rates should reflect their lifestyle decisions. If they can’t afford the premium because they don’t work, oh well,. Too bad. Drink 64-ounce sodas, eat Big Macs and die young.  Don’t increase my insurance premiums to pay for those who wish to live a less healthy life.  

This is America – the land of the free. Free to eat myself into a piano box for a coffin, free to celebrate my freedoms from oppression, free to say what I think; free to believe what I believe, free to be an individual; free to drink a 64 ounce soda if I choose.