Happy Meals and Sad Politicians: Its a Good Week in the News

There is finally some good news in the news. Happy Meals will be getting healthier and the Congress solved the budget problem (well, kinda...).  Happy Meals now have reduced the serving of fries and a serving of apples.  There are also more choices on healthy drinks.  This is a good thing, brought on by community and political pressure.  the Happy Meals have been banned in San Francisco and a few other cities had proposed laws.

In many situations, the customers should be free to choose thing, but the problem is here children don't understand their choices or the consequences of those choices.  Children don't understand fries are bad for their health, they only understand they are tasty.  Yes, the parents can choose to tell them they are bad or not let them get Happy Meals, but then you are putting the pressure on the parent.  They either disappoint their child (which no parent wants to do) or let them eat bad food.  The pressure should be on the provider of the food, not on the parents to put them in a lose-lose parenting situation.

Its another positive step adding onto large chains (such as Olive Garden) now required to list calories on their items.  People should have the information to make healthy choices for their lives.  Its hard to be lenient in the favor of these restaurants because many (Carrabba's for example) wouldn't release calories until the government obligated them.  I get wanting the government not to interfere, but this is vital information that the public has the right to know.  What is different between restaurant food and food you buy at the supermarket?  One is prepared and you have no control over what goes in.  If anything, its more vital for calories to be in prepared food because you are not making it so you do not control the portions.  Even if a restaurant would "release" the calorie information, they have consistently made it hard to find or they would under-report calories (Ruby Tuesday's) and you lose the benefit of the doubt when you lie.

Honestly, Congress does not deserve as many words as mcdonalds.  While mcdonald's should be lauded for taking the right steps, Congress still has their feet in the mud.  Yeah the bill was passed finally in both houses but will it do anything?  With all the hullabaloo around the bill, it doesn't do a lot.  It establishes a group of congressmen who will in the future made decisions on this kind of issue and it also mandated that by the end of the year, Congress must have a Balanced Budget Amendment.  The few things it actually does are sort of mixed.  They are having a reduction in spending that is more than the increase in the debt limit.  Honestly, its hard to say until I hear what is being cut (which is a whole other issue) if this will be good but in reality, it may not do any good and in fact harm.  Even the part I like is mixed.  While they have increased the amount of Pell Grants given out (need based grants), they have cut out subsidized loans for grad students.  We could still default, it will just be delayed until the bills are written later.