A Load of Bologna

One of the reasons I like reading Tom Naughton's Fat Head blog is that I know I'm never going to hear how some new oppressive law is okay, just this once. Today, he gives his commentary on the new Fat Tax in Denmark. In the midst of it, he gives two good questions to consider:

Whenever the nanny-statists set out to provide another real-life example of the punchline We’re from the government, and we’re here to help, they never pause to ask themselves two crucial questions:

• Is this an appropriate task for government, and therefore an appropriate application of government force?


• Do government officials have the knowledge and expertise to make the correct decisions on this matter and therefore apply force in a beneficial way?
  

~Something’s Fishy In Denmark (and here too)

Another test I like for considering the "goodness" of a new law is the Jews in the Attic test.

I explained to the others in my little band of activists that I looked at all laws that restricted freedom with a view to the impact it would have in a worst case scenario of our government run amok. Will this law make it difficult or impossible to protect innocent life from a government intent on their imprisonment or death?

~The Jews in the Attic

Ah, I get so tired of hearing Utopian reasons why I should let the government make decisions for me. They're always explained in the most optimistically glowing way, presenting the best case scenario on why we need the law, how many people it will help, how many bad guys will be caught. And then, reality intrudes. The nation gets fatter, innocent people get taken out by law enforcement agents run amok, and suddenly, "the bad guys" look an awful lot like freedom-loving patriots--all thanks to busybody laws.