Sugar Nannies Go Home

Image: Wikimedia Commons</a
Image: Wikimedia Commons

Representative Rosa DeLauro wants to tax sweetened soda for the purpose of making it unaffordable for people. See the reports by the New York Times and by The idea is that, if people drink soda, government will punish them for it by confiscating more of their wealth. This is yet another byproduct of government-controlled medicine: When everyone pays for everyone else’s health care, more people tend to support government intervention to control people’s behavior. But whether people drink sugar water is none of government’s legitimate business. People have a right to consume what they want and to spend their money how they want. Would-be sugar nannies should mind their own business.