Are fast food bans okay?

[Eriatarka]

thats a contradiction. if their desire for health were greater than their desire for junk food, theyd do what it took to be healthy. their actions do indeed demonstrate their will. how could it be otherwise? nobody is *forcing* them to eat mcdonalds.

Not necessarily, plain laziness could prevent someone with a dependence on junk food from from switching to the healthier lifestyle they'd prefer to lead. For people with a desire to be healthy (most people), junk food being less accessible might be just the kick they need to get them started on the healthy diet they'd prefer to have.

 

[snex]

EDIT: I forgot to add... if these 'elected officials' don't know what's best for the people who elected them... then why are they elected in the first place? I thought that they were elected to represent the people in their city/district/state/country. They can't do that if they 'know diddly' about what's best for their constituents.

thats like asking why we go to the doctor when they dont know diddly about how to fix our car. its a misplaced question. elected officials dont NEED to know about whats best for us because its not their job to know it and then force it upon us. their job descriptions are stated in the constitutions and laws that create their offices.

 

[Jack Kieser]

First of all, what? It is the job of the government, again, to protect the well-being and security of the people. They are defenders first and foremost. We aren't asking elected officials to somehow intrinsically know what's best, we're asking them to, when an issue arises, take all of the facts into account and come to a decision, tempered by what they know are the desires of their constituency, that is for the betterment of:

A ) the people they will directly effect, and
B ) the future generations that their decisions will more than likely effect.

There is a direct link between unhealthy eating and obesity, heart disease, increased cholesterol and blood pressure, etc. The issue of public health has come up. It is the government's job to take everything into account and make a judgment call about what is the best course of action to take to protect the people (in this case, from bad health). These particular politicians have done just that.

The ultimate goal of any organism (in the micro- or macrocosm) is to survive. If people are dying from something, it is the job of the government to curtail that because if all of our citizens die, so does our country. It's why, even if free market demands power plants to be near a residential area, the government has deemed it necessary to, through zoning, prevent power plants from being built near homes (health being one of the reasons). It's not like this isn't without some sort of precedent.

 

[snex]

which elected position is for what you claim its for? cite the relevant laws that define elected positions.

 

[Jack Kieser]

It doesn't have to be in the Constitution, you know. I'm not just talking about our government, I'm talking about ALL governmental bodies. Political science and philosophy states many purposes for every government, one of them being to protect the well-being of citizens.

http://www.federalrepublic.net/?p=8/

 

[marthanoob]

nobody is claiming the government shouldnt propose and enforce regulations - we are saying it has no right to BAN things that dont infringe upon the rights of others.

Enforce regulations on the density of fast food restaurants in an area. = Ban new fast food restaurants.

Either I'm wrong, or you want to rephrase that.

 

[snex]

It doesn't have to be in the Constitution, you know. I'm not just talking about our government, I'm talking about ALL governmental bodies. Political science and philosophy states many purposes for every government, one of them being to protect the well-being of citizens.

http://www.federalrepublic.net/?p=8/

actually we ARE discussing our government. remember, this is happening in los angeles, a city in the united stated. and i didnt say "constitution," i said "laws," only one of which is a constitution.

Enforce regulations on the density of fast food restaurants in an area. = Ban new fast food restaurants.

who said anything about the density of fast food restaurants in an area? wasnt me. i said enforce regulations in response to your post about the quality of products in the stockyards.

speaking of which, heres an off topic aside: the part of the chicago river right down the street from me is where they dumped the dead cow carcasses from the stockyards. the river is still bubbling from the methane.

 

[marthanoob]

who said anything about the density of fast food restaurants in an area? wasnt me. i said enforce regulations in response to your post about the quality of products in the stockyards.

speaking of which, heres an off topic aside: the part of the chicago river right down the street from me is where they dumped the dead cow carcasses from the stockyards. the river is still bubbling from the methane.

Oh, ok. Just a simple misconception. Sorry about that.

Wow, that mind-boggling.