Becker-Posner Blog Tackles Bloomberg’s Proposal to Ban Super-Sized Sugary Drinks

University of Chicago Economics Professor Gary Becker and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Richard Posner have posted comments on their blog about New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. Becker concludes that “even when consumer decisions are not in their self-interest, it is questionable whether that provides sufficient grounding for government efforts to regulate and tax these decisions.” His most fundamental concern is that government bureaucrats may not “generally understand why consumers make defective decisions” or whether particular polices will effectively address the issue. He argues, “One should require evidence that the great majority of obese adult individuals do not make the connection with health before trying to restrict their consumption.” And he points out that if 16-ounce drinks are no longer available in New York, consumers may then substitute two 10-ounce drinks and thus increase their total consumption.

Justice Posner agrees “that one must be hesitant to recommend governmental
intervention in personal choice.” While agreeing that “[g]overnment lacks
good information about consumer preferences in a country as vast and
diverse as the United States,” Posner finds “the case for some government
intervention in the obesity epidemic . . . compelling.” He is concerned with
“the negative externalities of obesity—the costs that the obese impose on
others” as well as the likelihood that obese parents will pass on their “bad
habits” to their children and that obesity can be “contagious,” becoming the
norm in family circles or circles of friends and coworkers. Posner contends that
sugared soft drinks are “the straightest path to obesity” and calls Bloomberg’s
proposal an “attention getter” that tells “New Yorkers that obesity is a social
problem warranting government intervention, and not just a personal choice.”
Seeing parallels with tobacco regulation, Posner suggests that Bloomberg’s
container proposal may start the movement to reduce obesity, concluding
“Maybe someday it will be as effective, and receive as much public approbation,
as the anti-smoking movement.” See Becker-Posner Blog, June 18, 2012.