Tuesday, October 25, 2011

A Lesson in "Choice and Competition"

Nanny State Update from 'The Journey'

choice

It's a Dad's dilemma. I've been there, done that, but a dear friend of mine recently went through it with some unimagined consequences.

A parent of a young child, running late to get that child to school, decides to forgo the homemade lunch and stops at Wendy's to get something. Surely this would not cause any problems.

Upon arrival at the school, the child's drink from Wendy's was taken because 'it is not approved as healthy.' Consciencious parent forks over milk money to the child and goes off to work. The administrator now holds on to the child's Wendy's meal and at lunch time the child has to eat the meal in the office. The reason: The government lunch program does not allow 'competitor's' products.

Wow! Use a broad brush with that and you could ban the whole lunch from home thing... unless you make everything from scratch. Any packaged portion of a brown bag lunch could be considered 'competitor.' You get the picture. I'm including a link to Tom Harkin's Letter [click to read] explaining the whole 'healthy lunch' thing. It is instructive.

But here are the facts. The children in this family are all thin and athletic. They play soccer and run track. They are fed very healthy meals at home. They need no 'nanny state' intervention.

As to Dave Thomas, who created Wendy's. His Adoption initiatives and other programs that he started have done more to help real children in real situations than the 'uber-nanny state' ever will.
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On Tyranny and Liberty [click to read] by Myron Magnet in City Journal

Would the Founders Approve of the Nation We've Made?

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