Liberty and Fountain Drinks

There are days when I am really glad that I don’t live in New York City. This is one of those days.

Mayor Bloomberg has announced plans to ban sugary drinks greater than 16 ounces in size. I’ve been a consumer of 44 oz. fountain drinks for more than 20 years. As a college student, I would stop at the Village Pantry along Indiana State Route 26 to fill up with my beloved Mt. Dew during my three-hour drives between my home in Sidney, OH and my home-away-from-home in West Lafayette, IN. As a junior naval officer in Arlington, VA, I would often grab a Super Big Gulp from the 7-Eleven across the street to get me through the afternoon. Even now, I occasionally grab a big foam cup of the delightfully sweet stuff from the local gas station convenience store.

It seems that skinny nanny-state freak in New York doesn’t like people being able to drink the stuff in sizes that don’t disappear in three sips. I’m safe in Ohio, for now, but this gives me one more reason to avoid the Big Apple. My car needs gas anyway, so I think I’ll stop at the station after lunch and, for good measure, come back to work with a massive dose of the stuff that I’m craving.

On a more serious note: this is another bureaucratic assault on liberty. Just looking at what is and is not affected under the proposed ban makes compliance look like a nightmare. As is usually the case, enforcement will be arbitrary and in some cases, disproportionately harsh. I pray that this is not a bellwether for the further erosion of liberty and suppression of the free market nationwide.