Most people don't agrue with policy like this simply because they agree with it or don't see a problem with it because it doesn't affect them. "I'm not fat or don't drink that much pop, and our country is fat, so yeah, it seems ok!" It's this type of mentality that allows government to do pretty much whatever they want. They used the "terrorist" excuse to enter a few wars and take away some of our rights and people accept it because they think it's necessary to keep us safe, when it's quite the opposite. The same thing can be done with the "obese" excuse. We could start seeing fatty foods taxed more or banned completely. The same shit is happening with gays across the nation. Not enough citizens care about that group of people having their rights infringed upon simply because it doesn't affect them, so they just go along with government's decision. That's also why it took so long for blacks to have the same rights as everyone else. If everyone was liberty-minded, we wouldn't let government get away with shit like this.
Actually if more people were supportive of the liberal agenda, gays would have their rights. Y'know, go government and stuff. And honestly, do you not find it unusual that everyone treats libertarian criticisms of government itself like the boy who cried wolf?
It's not a libertarian criticism. It's a pro-freedom criticism. And I have no idea what your last sentence means. Government doesn't give rights. It can only take them away. Everyone has natural rights.
I agree EXACTLY with what Derek and Trav said. It's our bodies, we know the dangers, the risks, and everything. We can do what we want! The government does not have the right to tell us what we can and can do.
I'm by no means a small government guy so I feel 100% percent comfortable in saying that I am ok with government making what's really a rather small law. A law that will make people think twice when they buy soda. Although Travz does have a point that regulating fucking soda will not fix our obesity issue. It won't even come close.
It's a fairly realistic possibility. We've been moving towards a world government for a long time now. The United Nations is just a stepping stone. Numerous wars we've been involved in have been with enemies that were once our allies that we were funneling a bunch of money to. Hussein and Bin Laden are a few examples. The US military has been spread across the world for the last 50 or so years. We have ~700 bases in something like 130 countries out of the ~190 that are in the world. It's definitely a goal for the elitists that are currently running our government behind the curtains. They would be able to control the world instead of just the US.
This is not a violation of freedom at all. If you want to get the same amount of pop as a super-sized, then just buy two pop! You still have freedom to drink as much soft drinks as you want. This law is simply discouraging it because there's far to many obese and overweight people in the States. Billions of dollars are being spent on obesity-related health problems each year. If this law affects you, well, you shouldn't be consuming that much anyways. Not all of us do, unfortunately. Not everyone is like you. Not everyone is educated about their health. Look at 5 year olds. Also, if the government doesn't do anything about this, fast-food chains (esp. Mcdonalds) will take over (which they're already doing) and obesity rates will skyrocket even more. Do you really want to see even more cash being thrown in the gutters for obesity-related issues? If the law was really "oh, we can do whatever we want to our bodies" etc, we will start producing generations who become brainwashed by fast-food corporations (oh wait, that's starting already). Some of you may find this statement rediculous, but the government needs to start enforcing rules to stop the fast food corporations from being more powerful than the government (which is already starting). EDIT: I also don't think health programs would simply reduce obesity rates. It's too late now.
When I was younger, the medium sized drinks that we have now were the large ones back then. I quit eating fast food. I, for one, hope this goes through.
This is basically an awareness campaign, designed to make people think twice before buying that second 12oz soft drink. It's supposed to make you think "Do I need this?". The drinks are still available and there's no limit to how many containers you can buy, but rather limits on the size of the container. If people are really dead-set on buying 24ozs of Pepsi, there's nothing stopping them. But if this law makes millions of New Yorkers think about portion control then it'll be highly beneficial.
But of all things, why soda? Yes, it's unhealthy, but there are so many other things that are more unhealthy. Why not cut the size of cigarettes in half? You can smoke just as much as you wanted to before, but now you have to be aware of just how much you're smoking and think twice before you light up that second cigarette. People can drink sugary sodas their entire life, but a proper diet and exercise can offset the negative effects of it and they can live a perfectly healthy life. But there's no way to be healthy if you smoke.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse... So you believe that there is indeed a world government coming, and when it does, and I quote: "they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology."
Not exactly true. http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-livi...a-soda-every-day-for-a-long-time-2494154.html
The government has already tried to curb cigarette purchasing by taxing it to all hell and putting disgusting pictures on their boxes (or perhaps that's a Canadian thing?). True, the benefit of doing so has made them billions of dollars, but that was the justification. Trying to make inroads in the cigarette industry is always going to be difficult as long as the tobacco companies keep filling the coffers of politicians and lobbyists. I agree with 11:54 that you have to start somewhere. Big Gulp sugary drinks are a major culprit in the rise of childhood obesity and diabetes. It's not like non-hereditary diabetes can just be exercised away. I'd love a further crackdown on portion sizes in the fast food industry. This is a good start on teaching people the importance of portion control.
I don't know if this is the case anywhere else, but at my university the junky fast food places were required to place nutritional facts at the counter for all of their items. If the U.S. gov't doesn't already force laws like that, they should. That way, no one can complain of being "protected against their will," just simply better informed.
I didn't say that. I'm pretty sure that part of the video description was a joke. Why would they kill 80% of their tax base? And I don't think that sci-fi technology has been realized yet on Earth. It's evident that a world government is possible. The European Union, the United Nations, and the proposals of the NAFTA Superhighway are just some examples of government increasing its capabilities and scope. Though it's going to be tough to pull off if countries start collapsing everywhere like they are about to.
I'm just gonna go straight to the root of the issue. Does a person have a right to the freedom to destroy themselves and burden the people around them? If a powerful entity is modifying the environment in such a way that it is harming large masses of people who don't control that environment, then isn't it against the idea of not harming others? It is important to note that the people who don't control the environment may be taking the option that gets them by the best, drawbacks and all, and they may not have access to other options.
Are you saying soda companies are harming people who voluntarily buy their product? And what do you mean burden the people around them? I read that post like 5 times and still can't understand what you were trying to say.