Mayor (or should it be Nanny?) Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City has apparently decided that New Yorkers on food stamps can't think for themselves when they shop for groceries, so the city needs to think for them. The New York Times reports that the Mayor, with the support of New York State, is seeking federal permission to bar the city's 1.7 million recipients of food stamps from using the assistance to buy soft drinks and other sugared beverages. A U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman said that the agency, which administers the food stamp program, is reviewing the proposal.
This is not the first time something like this has been proposed. In 2004, Minnesota asked the federal government for permission to ban the use of food stamps to buy candy or soft drinks. The request was denied, in part, because the department feared it would "perpetuate the myth that food stamp users made poor shopping decisions." In 2008, Congress also debated and rejected a similar proposal during consideration of the farm bill.
Mayor Bloomberg's request is part of a vast anti-obesity effort that includes strict rules on the food prepared and sold in schools, agressive advertisements, a ban on trans fats, and carlorie counts on menus. Interestingly, the Mayor's request comes on the heels of New York State's failed attempt to tax soft drinks. The Mayor has a record of crusades against behaviors he has deemed "bad for New Yorkers," such as smoking. In his first term, the Mayor banned smoking from restaurants, bars, and other indoor public places; now, he wants to extend that ban to public parks and beaches. What's next? Drinking? Sunbathing? Driving? Such draconian measures interfere with personal choice and set a bad precedent for the government to engage in basic decisions in our lives.
In his quest to fight obesity, the Mayor should remember that the problem of obesity is due to people consuming more calories and exercising less, not because they are consuming more soda. In fact, soda consumption has been relatively steady over the past two decades while obesity rates have increased. That's because a calorie is a calorie, whether it comes from a can of Pepsi, a bowl of cereal, or a Mocha Frappucino. Further, banning soft drinks for food stamp recipients would severely limit choices for consumers using food stamps. By applying the ban to sugared beverages, consumers could be prevented from buying less expensive drink mixes, such as lemonade and iced tea. Drink mixes are popular because a small, inexpensive container can make gallons of beverage.
Rather than picking on the city's consumers by limiting their choices, the Mayor should look at over ways of making the city healthier.