We Know What's Best for You

This post from Alex at Marginal Revolution was so nicely put together that I decided to just put the whole thing here.

The Los Angeles council has just passed on ordinance banning new fast food restaurants in a poor section of South/Central LA. William Saletan calls it Food Apartheid and writes: We're not talking anymore about preaching diet and exercise, disclosing calorie counts, or restricting sodas in schools. We're talking about banning the sale of food to adults....It's true that food options in low-income neighborhoods are, on average, worse than the options in wealthier neighborhoods. But restricting options in low-income neighborhoods is a disturbingly paternalistic way of solving the problem. Milton Friedman once said: I don't think the state has any more right to tell me what what to put in my mouth than it has to tell me what can come out of my mouth. Friedman was talking about drug prohibition but today the target could just as easily be food prohibition. Hat tip on the Friedman quote to Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayek.

Once again, Friedman was right. I don't know about you, but I don't need any government paper-pusher telling me what I can choose to eat where. These politicians are not here to help, they want control over you. Never forget that.