Re:Children are spoofing Covid-19 tests with soft drinks
by Cthulhu_ on Monday July 19, 2021 @08:55AM
(#27882108)
Banning all of those won't work - remember the Prohibition? - but there's plenty of discouragement things going on, at least on this side of the pond. Alcohol and tobacco are heavily taxed, tobacco can no longer be advertised for, displayed, or be in any kind interesting (bland packaging), and that's after they had to have big warnings about the health risks of smoking. And there's plans to introduce sugar taxes - which I would be more on board with if those taxes were used to subsidize and lower the price of 'good' food / essentials.
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Re:Children are spoofing Covid-19 tests with soft drinks
by boring_twenties on Monday July 19, 2021 @09:27AM
(#27882408)
In the US, we might not even need to tax sugar. We could try just ending the massive subsidies for it (and corn).
Re:Children are spoofing Covid-19 tests with soft drinks
by briandear on Monday July 19, 2021 @10:28AM
(#27882993)
Why can’t government just stay out of it? I don’t recall electing a government to be my parents. Government should build roads and have a Navy but why should a government “encourage” healthy behaviors, etc. Are people unable to be adults on their own?
Re:Children are spoofing Covid-19 tests with soft drinks
by handrous on Monday July 19, 2021 @11:03AM
(#27883421)
OTOH I'm not sure casting people into the wild to deal, all on their own, with megacorps employing hundreds or thousands dedicated to convincing people to make bad choices is a great idea, either.
I'm not convinced Rugged Individualism and anything like the modern economy are compatible, in any kind of way in which the outcome of trying to have both is pleasant. It may be a "choose one" kind of situation.
Re:Children are spoofing Covid-19 tests with soft drinks
by tomp on Monday July 19, 2021 @12:34PM
(#27884529)
The government is great for collective action necessary in situations that resemble the prisoner’s dilemma, where incentives of individual agents lead them to take non-pareto-optimal decisions.
Things like breaking up monopolies, mandating open access to infrastructure, and, yes, countering the effects of companies and advertisers manipulating us and exploiting our weaknesses.