Bloomberg’s Ban Begets Big Backlash

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban of sugary drinks over 16 oz. has quickly set off a national—and fairly bipartisan—backlash. About half of New Yorkers say the ban would be a case of government going too far according to a poll released today, while a Rasmussen poll shows 65% of American adults oppose it.

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Even some mainstream journalists have bashed the ban. In an interview, Matt Lauer criticized Bloomberg for pushing for a soda ban while publicly supporting National Donut Day. John Stewart and Stephen Colbert mocked it on their news-parody shows. Liberal econ-blogger Matthew Yglesias thinks a soda tax would be wise but a ban on big drinks wouldn’t.

So does anyone think the proposed ban is a good idea? The CSPI, of course. And Alec Baldwin. Okay, and Bill Clinton too.

All this controversy has popped up right before the first-ever National Soda Summit takes place later this week. The Soda Summiteers are after our Big Gulps but given the strong pushback to Bloomberg’s soda agenda, it looks like they're the ones who should be 'gulp'-ing.

P.S. Here’s one fun way to fight the power: http://comeandtakeitnannystaters.tumblr.com/