Recently New York Mayor Bloomberg made an attempt at banning soda beverages over 16 ounces, and it has everyone all a twitter lately, literally a figuratively. And as usual, I find this silly.

Here’s the thing. Adults, we can make choices for ourselves. If we want to drown ourselves in sugary soda we have a right to make that decision. No one is on their death bed saying “I should have drank less Mountain Dew” Yes, I know it leads to higher health care costs, contributes to diabetes, and is horrible on your teeth. No one drinks soda thinking that it is good for your health. It’s an indulgence in an overly indulgent society. And it’s cheap. Which is a MAJOR problem. When you have people all over the country struggling to make ends meet and everything that is cheap is bad for you then you have people making unhealthy choices! Make healthy choices more affordable! Make it so that you can’t buy crap food and beverages with food stamps!

Honestly though, do we REALLY need 32 ounce sodas? Perhaps I am biased on this since I don’t drink all that much soda, but the only thing your body needs 32 ounces of on a daily basis is WATER. Not with your dinner at Taco Bell. (oh man, Taco Bell sounds SO GOOD right now) There are even studies that say that regular soda drinking can account for 20lbs a year. Even diet soda is bad for you (it not much worse due to Aspartame). And to be honest, if I am going to drink my calories it’s usually in tequila. At this point though, I do my best Cartman impression and say “whatever, I do what I want!”

Kids, however, DO NOT NEED excessive amounts of soda. One can of soda has the equivalent of consuming 16 cubes of sugar. And what happens to kids on sugar? Chaos. Hyperactivity. Inability to pay attention. There doesn’t need to be soda machines in schools or offered before sporting events. And parents should be aware of the negative effects of drinks with such a high sugar content (watch out for a lot for a lot of juices too). However, it is not the governments business to tell us how to live, or how to raise our children. I am fine with a sugar tax, hell if I have to pay a higher wine tax then they can pay a higher sugar tax. And seriously, does Mayor Bloomberg have NOTHING ELSE TO WORRY ABOUT in the small town of New York City?

This probably was nothing more then a PR stunt to get people to realize how unhealthy soda, especially in mass quantities, can be. This leap, however idiotic, had the right intentions at least from a human perspective, but was a royal waste of governmental time and money. He would have been better off making a documentary, have Morgan Sperlock star in it. Call it “Big Gulp”. Perhaps add a Michael Moore to the mix. The lawsuits would be interesting to watch unfold.