Article Reviews: Law
Article 1: Question: Please review this article and respond with your thoughts on how this type of law may or may not go too far with respect to regulation of the individual.
In light of the serious obesity problem in the U.S., there is certainly a case for legislating to help those who lack the knowledge or the willpower to reduce their calories intake. Human nature being what it is, many people either find it difficult to resist those extra snacks or calories in drinks, so curbing the sale of the larger-sized sugary drinks could be seen as a positive move. However, because it does not apply to sales in grocery and convenience stores, maybe its effectiveness will be limited. Further, it seems likely that in order to maintain their revenues, the targeted outlets might respond with promotions such as offering a second 16-ounce drink for half price or similar, so largely negating any benefits. Perhaps a better solution therefore would be to run an advertising campaign to inform consumers, but also to compel those businesses to prominently display the calorie count on all product packaging, along the lines proposed by McDonald’s, leaving the individual consumers with greater freedom of choice. The proposed mandatory cap of 16 ounces for the high calorie drinks may just be too restrictive on individual freedoms.
Article 2: Question: Please review this article and comment on the positives and negatives of a government agency running healthcare.
Although it is the government running the healthcare program – the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare” – it is the insurance companies issuing the mentioned cancellation notices and offering new policies with more benefits but correspondingly higher premiums. However, they are complying – presumably – with the government directives, so cannot be blamed as such for the premium increases cited. Overall, whilst Obama’s objectives are to increase the numbers of Americans having adequate medical cover (which is clearly a good thing), forcing thousands of people to pay a great deal more to obtain benefits they would not take if given freedom of choice (and very probably cannot afford) is not so good. On balance, perhaps leaving the management of the program to the private sector would be the better solution for most consumers, allowing insurance companies and their clients to agree on policies tailored to individual needs and budgetary constraints. Whilst the government’s objectives may be admirable, it perhaps lacks the business expertise that the commercial market has in these situations.
Article 3: Question: Review this article on the federal budget. Provide your observations and opinions.
Discovering that almost two thirds of the U.S. government’s spending is without Congress voting on it is quite staggering, especially taking into account the huge amounts involved and the need for austerity in these recessionary times. In a non-government company, the management team would no doubt be ousted by the shareholders if they ran the business like that. According to the article, the U.S. defense budget accounts for about twenty percent of the total spent – just imagine how much that $700 billion could do for the country if spent on infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, roads, etc. However, as also reported in the article, some 25 percent of the annual spend goes on healthcare and is increasing every year – possibly rising to 33 percent by 2021. At the same time, it was surprising to learn that the average family’s federal tax burden has been falling for the last three decades. Finally, Wessel revealed that over a third of all government spend in 2012 was borrowed. As he says in the article, that cannot be sustained indefinitely, and there is no agreement as yet on how to deal with the situation – scandalous!
References
Article 1:
Petrecca, Laura. (2012). “’Supersized’ drinks on the way out in NYC.” USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012/09/13/supersized-drinks-on-the-way-out-in-nyc/57775970/1
Article 2:
Myers,Lisa & Rappleye, Hannah. (Oct 2013). “Obama admin. knew millions could not keep their health insurance.” NBC News. Retrieved from http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21213547-obama-admin-knew-millions-could-not-keep-their-health-insurance?lite
Article 3:
Wessel, David. (Jul 2012). “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Budget* *But Were Afraid to Ask.” The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390444330904577538910083734248
