It’s not ‘freedom’ if choices taken away

Published 1:32 am Saturday, September 13, 2014

The problem with the “nudge” is that it eventually becomes a shove. In other words, when education programs fail to meet the unreasonably high expectations of government planners, the planners invariably resort to coercion.

In Dripping Springs schools, first lady Michelle Obama’s school lunch rules aren’t enough. Now the district is instituting “Meatless Mondays.”

Here’s the point: There’s a world of difference between educating people about their choices and taking away their freedom to choose.

It was just last summer that the White House announced it was hiring a “behavioral insights team” to use new principles of “nudging” to get Americans to do the right thing — whether it’s to eat right, to save more money, or to refrain from cheating on their taxes.

A nudge is less than a law, but more than a mere suggestion. It uses “choice architecture” to influence the decisions we make.

“The idea is the brainchild of former White House adviser Cass Sunstein and led by a 26-year-old White House aide who is recruiting like-minded academics,” Investors Business Daily reported. “On paper, the intentions might sound good to some. The claim is that by mastering the nudge, government can get the public to stop eating fatty food, lose weight, quit smoking and, who knows, maybe save the whales.”

Now, that sounds relatively harmless. But there are two problems. First is that the government doesn’t always know what’s best for us.

“To take one example, take a look at the food pyramid still promoted by the Agriculture Department — a high-carbohydrate recipe that claims to offer a healthy diet. Studies show that carbs cause obesity, but the government still pushes its old message — which is a guaranteed way to gain weight,” that newspaper notes.

And “Meatless Monday” certainly sounds harmless.

As KVUE Television reports, “On Monday’s menu at Rooster Springs Elementary School: cheese pizza, black bean burritos, vegetarian chili, cheese nachos and more. ‘The cheese sauce is made with real cheese. It comes from Land O’ Lakes, and it actually has incredible value as a protein product,’ said John Crowley, director of Dripping Springs ISD’s Child Nutrition Services.”

But Texas Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples says that goes too far.

“Restricting children’s meal choice to not include meat is irresponsible and has no place in our schools,” he wrote in the Austin American-Statesman. “For those Texans who choose not to eat meat, I say more power to you. If you want to take the personal challenge to go meatless on Mondays, go right ahead. However, we cannot force such an agenda-driven diet on anyone who has not chosen such a diet — especially our school children.”

The real point here is that there’s a very big difference between a benign government program that educates people, and a government program that coerces.

The problem is that programs often morph from the first kind into the second. That’s because planners get frustrated with the public’s resistance to the government-knows-best approach.

Let’s ensure that people have choices, and let’s equip them with the knowledge to make good ones.