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Subject:
The Great American Smoke Out
wjhii
6/7/2005 11:20:28 PM
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The Great American Smoke Out
By
William John Hagan
Houston Home Journal (Warner Robins, Perry, GA)
June 8, 2005
C.S. Lewis warned us that, ?Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.? There was a time in our nation?s history when our political parties were defined by the amount of personal freedom they allowed the populace. Restrictive regulations and social engineering had been the hallmark of the Democratic Party: gun control legislation and the implementation of the income tax are just two examples.
The Republican Party had, historically, taken a hands off approach and believed that a lack of regulation stimulated human ingenuity and success. These traditions were in place as recently as the Clinton administration, who initially proposed massive government spending on health care reform while dismantling our nation?s military. The Republican majority in congress, led by Newt Gingrich, wisely prevented Clinton?s radical reforms resulting in a frustrated executive branch unable to act on domestic issues without the consent of Congress. The outcome was a hands off approach to the US Economy that resulted in an economic upturn that continued until Alan Greenspan raised interest rates multiple times and the Clinton Justice Department went after Microsoft in an anti-trust trial putting an end to the tech boom.
In today?s America, however, Republicans seem to be forgetting their philosophical roots which were grounded in free market principles and freedom from economic repression. Rather than standing up for these basic tenets of hands off government, Republican leaders from New York to Georgia are, instead, embracing the ideals of the liberals? idealized ?Nanny State? A prime example of this oppressive brand of governing has been the trend to ban public smoking. Michael Bloomberg, for example, the Mayor of New York City, was the first Republican to support anti-smoking legislation.
Despite his genius for business in the private sector Bloomberg failed to foresee the negative economic impact that banning cigarette smoking in bars and restaurants would have on the economy of New York City. According to Scott Wexler, Executive Director of the Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association, ?the ban cost New York's bar and tavern owners more than $80 million in sales since the law went into effect.? Those numbers translate into a significant number of business closings and have resulted in job losses for many in the service industry. The very law which was intended to protect workers and patrons from the alleged dangers of second hand smoke simply resulted in healthy amount of economic hardship.
The smoking ban also caused further hardship on the police who were charged with enforcing the new law in New York City. Rather than dealing with the onerous task of legitimate law enforcement in a post-9/11 world, the New York City Police were now playing babysitter to Mayor Bloomberg?s social reforms.
Despite the documented evidence of the negative impact of New York?s smoking ban Georgia?s Governor Sonny Perdue has signed legislation that will effectively ban smoking in restaurants beginning on July 1st. Surprisingly Georgia and New York City, two completely disparate populations, now share activist executives and legislators who appear more concerned with politically correct policy making than the constitutional freedoms they were sworn to uphold. By what right can the executive and legislative branches tell a private business-person how to conduct their affairs? To quote columnist, Sidney Zion, ?Fascism always arrives on the wings of public health.? And it?s true.
In a highly predictable outcome, Georgia can expect an economic backlash similar to that of New York. Thanks to Sonny Perdue?s failure to stand up to the anti-smoking zealots who are guiding public policy nationwide, without regard for the people and principles they trample, we are creating a ?smoke-free? America in a ?freedom-free? world. link )
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