Hide the Oreos Earl! The food police are coming! Part 2

Tobacco has been a huge cash cow for the government and in government, cash cows are sacred cows. You don’t go around slaying the sacred cash cows until and unless you have a new golden calf to replace it. Perhaps the Nanny State Lefties now have a fatter cash cow in their sights.

In pursuing the war on tobacco, the left established the pattern and refined the process necessary to create almost unlimited number of sacred cash cows in the name of public safety or health. I call it the Tobacco Template.

First establish that “the product” is bad for children. Second, pass laws to limit or restrict advertising of “the product” where children might see it. Third, pass laws to limit or ban the access to or use of “the product” by children. Fourth, scare the public by over-hyping potential health risks associated with use or consumption of “the product”. Associate words like “crisis” or “epidemic” to potential health risks associated with “the product” for full effect. Fifth, manipulate public sentiment against “the product” by using junk science, exaggeration of legitimate studies/statistics, inconclusive studies and/or disinformation. Vilify, ignore, misrepresent and/or suppress any studies or professionals who refute or are in opposition to the position established in this step. Sixth, pass laws to tax or otherwise financially penalize the consumer and/or producers of “the product”. Seventh, limit or ban the consumption “the product” in certain places in society. Eighth, arouse public anger against “the product” by attacking the business practices of producers of “the product”. The last 3 steps need not be done in order given. Repeat steps 6 and 7 as needed or desired.

If you were to substitute the words “the product” with “junk food”, it would appear that the left is well on the way to implementing step 5 and toying with step 7. (Yes, I know Bloomberg is a Republican but he is a RINO-republican if there ever was one)

Let us now consider the implications if the left were to successfully implement the Tobacco Template on junk food.

According to the initiative set forth by former President Clinton, junk food would be defined as foods with high sugar, salt and/or fat content. If the Tobacco Template were fully implemented, not only could the government tax junk food specifically, it could expand the tax to the individual “harmful” ingredients in junk food. In other words, once the government slays the junk food dragon, it could then impose a “sin” tax on fat simply because it is bad for you. If the fat in junk food is bad for you, what about fat in other things like meat? Speaking of meat, is meat really good for you? Aren’t there health risks involved in eating meat?

The point of all this is not to put forth some kook conspiracy theory; I don’t go in for that sort of thing. Instead I think it is important to consider the ramifications of making food a potential source of government revenue in the form of “sin taxes” on foods that might be bad for us. The government has made billions if not trillions from taxing tobacco. The potential revenues generated by taxing “bad” food would make that look like chump change. In addition to a tax albatross around our collective necks, it would also give the government control over a huge sector of our economy. Politicians rarely if ever show any self control when given the opportunity to fill their coffers and this, I think, would be too great a temptation for them to resist.

For the record, I am not opposed to eating healthy foods. I just don’t want the government telling us what food we can and cannot eat by legal fiat or through their tax policy.