I’m not one of those right-wing wackos who run around screaming “the socialists are coming, the socialists are coming” every time the good guys in government try to do something sensible to protect the public, such as passing President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. (Seeing as the Republicans insist on calling this Obamacare, I think we should refer to the 4,765th GOP attempt to repeal it as Boehnerdontcare, in honor of the House speaker. But I digress.)
Mandatory seat-belt laws? I’m okay with that. Forcing motorcyclists to wear helmets? Fine by me. Taxing the hell out of cigarettes to make them prohibitively expensive? If that's what it takes to get more people to quit, go for it.
Still, there are times when government meddling, however well-intentioned, is an example of what conservatives like to decry as “the nanny state.” A case in point: My wife Liz bought a pair of water shoes the other day. They came with the obligatory tags telling her how wonderful the shoes are and what an all-fired smart consumer she is for buying such an unbelievably superior product, etc.
One of those tags also carried a warning required in California under Proposition 65, a citizen-initiated law designed in part to reduce or eliminate public exposure to dangerous chemicals in consumer products. The warning reads as follows: "This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and/or birth defects or other reproductive harm. Do not mouth or chew."
Right.
I guess if Liz ever finds herself in California fending off pregnant women who have a hankering to nibble on her footwear, she’ll be ready to give them a heads up.
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