A new national poll today found overwhelming opposition to banning the sale of soft drinks larger than 16 ounces. Rasmussen Reports released details of their independent survey that found 65 percent of American adults oppose a law that would ban the sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 ounces, like the proposal announced by New York City Mayor Bloomberg last week.
Does anyone actually support this idea? Not that we have seen. And the opposition is growing.
In case you missed it last week, The New York Times editorialized against the proposal admitting that the proposal constitutes “too much nannying.” The Associated Press called into question the slippery slope nature of Bloomberg’s proposal and pointed out that it is arbitrary and baseless, saying “Why wouldn't a government determined to curb obesity restrict sales of doughnuts or pastries or - perish the thought, New Yorkers - ban bagels with a schmeer of cream cheese?” And last Friday on the Today Show, Matt Lauer conducted a hard-hitting interview with Bloomberg and called him out for being “ridiculous” – text of interview here.
The late night shows lit up when Bloomberg announced his proposal, like during this clip from The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart where he agrees with Tucker Carlson that this is a major overreach.
On top of all of this – people’s confidence in government to do what is right is at an all-time low. And when you consider that politicians from New York and California are pushing short-sighted policies that are opposed by two-thirds of the public – like banning portion sizes and taxing soda – it’s not hard to understand why.