Hello Anyone who reads my blog! I hope your Holidays were wonderful and that if you are back to work or school that your break was great! I spent two and half weeks back at home in Minnesota. It was a good time, and I had the chance to just de-stress for awhile which is always appreciated. I'm glad to be back in my own space, but home is always a welcome break!
Now for my latest blog topic. I was watching The Daily Show tonight and there was a segment on the "Happy Meal Ban" that is going into effect in San Fransisco. I had heard of this but hadn't looked much into it. Essentially the city is banning fast food companies and/or restaurants from giving a toy with a meal that does not meet the city's new dietary standards for such meal. Now the show of course had their own spin on this, but the main message was that by doing this the city is messing in private businesses. This got me thinking. I am not at all educated enough on the business and labor practices side of politics to have strong opinions either way, I just take each scenario as it comes. With this particular issue I can see where the city is coming from, and I can admire that. But I also have some red flags raised about the city mandating these requirements, especially for businesses that are already there, and I kind of think the new law is unjust.
But...now that I'm sitting here writing this I'm realizing how similar this issue is to other recent laws affecting food businesses like no smoking indoors, banning trans fats, etc. I had been in favor of those two laws, especially the smoking one because I can't stand smoke and hate going places where smoking is allowed. But now I'm wondering if laws like this violate our right to operate a private business. And I honestly don't know where I stand. I can say that at River Falls there was a movement to make the entire campus smoke free, as has been done other places, but I was actually against this. As long as people were outside and obeyed the 25-foot from a door rule I was ok. Annoying as it is to walk behind someone who is smoking, whatever, they were outside and I can move. This however was a public government owned property, so different laws apply. Still, now laws like this have me wondering to what extent does the government have the right to get involved in private businesses. When do potential health concerns overrule these limits?
I feel like this is an issue I need more education on. This could be a problem though, to find an unbiased place to look. If I'm correct conservative politics want as little regulation and involvement as possible, and liberals want more regulation. Generally I find myself to lean liberal, I don't hide this. But on this issue...hmm. What do you think? To what extent does the government have the right to step in and dictate rules, at least when it comes to health concerns? I'd love to hear some opinions...
Here's the link to video of the segment on The Daily Show, for some reason I can't embed it here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-3-2011/san-francisco-s-happy-meal-ban
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