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Boston Archive

Tuesday

6

September 2011

1

COMMENTS

Boston Councilors Want to License Knife Sales

Written by , Posted in The Nanny State & A Regulated Society

I oppose almost all government licensing. But at least when it comes to weapons one can typically understand, if not necessarily agree with, the arguments of those who propose such licensing. That is not the case for me here:

Two city councilors will propose an ordinance today that would require businesses in Boston to be licensed before they can sell knives, which officials said minors can easily buy at retailers across the city.

“Why is it that people can buy a knife at their corner store, where their neighbors are buying milk and other household goods?’’ City Councilor Michael P. Ross said he was recently asked by Genie Curry of Roxbury. “And, why are they selling knives to children?’’

Curry, 58, a member of the grass-roots group Mothers for Justice and Equality, asked Ross about the measure at a dinner several weeks ago. Her son Kramo Lavon Curry, 23, was stabbed to death in 2000.

I’m sorry for her loss, but this kind of emotional legislating benefits no one. To answer Mrs. Curry’s question, the reason people can buy a knife at the same corner store where their neighbors are buying milk and other household goods is because a knife is a household good. It’s hard to have a household without one.

But why limit it to knives if that’s your reasoning? Presumably, even if they did succeed in the impossible task of limiting access to knives from would-be hooligans, what’s to stop them from using other weapons commonly available? Why not require licenses for anything that can kill someone? The reason is that it would be absurd, as the list of potential weapons is nearly endless – basically anything that’s either really sharp or blunt and heavy. Either way you slice it, it’s a fools errands; so why even bother with knives? Oh, right, a license always comes with a “licensing fee,” payable to your local government for the pleasure of exercising your rights.

Friday

8

April 2011

1

COMMENTS

Government Health Care Leads to Tyranny

Written by , Posted in Big Government, Government Meddling, Health Care, Welfare & Entitlements

Forget all that compelling  wonkish stuff against government sponsored health care, like the third-party-payer problem, regulatory capture or public choice theory. The most compelling argument, and simplest to understand, is that it inevitably leads to tyranny. Once you decide that the health of an individual is of collective interest, and funded by collective dollars, you give that collective the authority to interfere in any individual act which impacts a person’s health, and it turns out that’s just about everything.

To wit (hat-tip: Moonbattery):

Saying that sugary drinks have caused rising obesity among city residents and driven up health care costs, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino today moved to ban the sale, advertising, and promotion of the drinks on all city property.

…The order applies to cafeterias, vending machines, concession stands, and beverages served at meetings, the mayor’s office said.The drinks that will be banned include: non-diet sodas, pre-sweetened ice teas, refrigerated coffee drinks, energy drinks, juice drinks with added sugar, and sports drinks…

Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, said that in the long term, the policy will cut health care costs.

With Obamacare around the corner, this is just the tiniest tip of the iceberg. Under government run health care, nothing is personal any more.