Let’s hope Atlanta area officials don’t hear about this! The Los Angeles, California City Council has voted to impose a moratorium on the creation of new “fast food” restaurants on the south side of town.
The Council’s rationale is a frightening example of the nanny state run amok. 19% of all Angelenos are overweight, but 30% of adults in the predominantly minority south side of Los Angeles are obese. In its infinite wisdom, Los Angeles has decreed that minority citizens are too stupid to eat “properly”and need the beneficence of the City Council to limit options for “bad” choices.
Libertarians have all sorts of ideas about why Americans are thought to be getting fatter, but we have only one idea of what government’s role should be:NOTHING.
The platform of the Libertarian Party of Georgia states “We refrain from moral judgment because we believe people’s rights must be recognized; the wisdom of any course of peaceful action is a matter for the acting individual(s) to decide. Personal responsibility is discouraged when government either denies individuals the opportunity to exercise it, or insulates individuals from the consequences of their choices. Libertarian policies will create a society where people are free to make and learn from their own decisions.”
The inescapable companion of freedom is responsibility. The Los Angeles City Council has decided minority Angelenos are to be absolved of responsibility for their actions whether they like it or not, and the result is those residents are losing their freedom.
Libertarians would propose an alternate approach that respects citizens as adults instead of subjects. We recommend charities and private organizations that are concerned about obesity to approach media outlets to organize an education campaign about nutrition. Radio and television stations are bound by their FCC license to respond to the public interest, and most would willingly donate air time to such efforts. Local newspapers would jump at the chance to editorialize about eating choices. The combination would create a force in the marketplace of ideas to convince citizens to make intelligent choices in their eating habits.
This approach also would have the advantage of treating the largely minority citizen population of South Los Angeles like adults. It would not abridge the private property choices of restraunteurs and franchisers to open whatever retail establishments they wish. And it would not limit the options of the citizens of south LA — 70% of whom are NOT obese — to eat what they wanted.
The action of the Los Angeles City Council is outrageous. It is racist, applying only to the Black and Brown section of the city; and it is tyrannical, dictating choices to consumers and property owners alike. It indicates the members of the city council think they were elected to rule their constituents rather than torepresent them.
