Mike Bloomberg has been a very good mayor. He is a great philanthropist and a genuine independent in a two-party country.
But his zealotry on nanny issues, particularly nanny food issues, threatens to turn him into a national caricature of a rugalach-hating Jewish grandmother.
The mayor’s proposal to ban large soft drinks in the city — on top of his cupcake sale ban in city schools — is breathtakingly insulting. His thinking insists that people are too stupid to make their own decisions on matters of ingestion. I’m sure the mayor wouldn’t put it that way, but that’s how it comes across, at least to me.
Mayor Bloomberg no doubts feels strongly about enlightening the public to daily health issues. And he will fight for them regardless of the public reaction to his bans. Therein lies one of his most admirable qualities: a resolute stubbornness rare in public life.
But his efforts to make us all thinner may be better executed after he leaves office. Government isn’t supposed to be in the Frappacino business. That’s supposed to be obvious.
Bill, this is the same mayor that stopped restaurant food donations to homeless shelters because of the ‘potential’ fat content of the donated food! Instead of ‘Let them eat cake’ Bloomberg’s mantra is ‘let them eat nothing, until I approve of it’. You were way too generous in your column, Bloomberg is an out of control socialist who is now just showing how warped his thinking is.
tax, fines, fees – We should not be looking to create penalties. Perhaps we should start taking a positive approach rather than a negative. Politicians seem to want to generate excess revenue off the negatives of society.
Fines and fees are understandable in limited uses. Parking violation – fine. A license renewal – fee. Penalty tax?
Taxes are to raise revenue for the “necessary functions of government.” If you start to tax as a penalty, once everyone starts to comply to avoid this penalty, revenue will go down.
Look at the cigarette tax. During the Paterson administration, to balance the books one year, he proposed raising the cigarette tax. The problem with this is the revenue source is not constant. People start to quit. Over $5.00 I’m quitting says Smoker A. $8.50 is my cap, go over and I’m done Says Smoker B. Eventually, the end of the year will come, you’ll make NYers healther, but your books are off because revenue went down.
If at first, you ask and get nothing, incentives are what encourage the private sector to comply. Issue Tax credits or license credits at renewal if you comply with changing
S 16 oz – M 24 oz – L 32 oz
to
S 10 oz – M 16 oz – L 20 oz
Let’s stop thinking new ways to penalize Americans and American Businesses. Let’s look to encourage healthier life-styles.
You will have to pry my Super Duper Extra Size Bigger Gulp Slurpee from my cold dead fingers.