Rise of the Nanny State: Is There a Political Answer to Every Problem?

Is there a political answer to every problem? Most of my colleagues feel this is the case. I disagree.

In the past day, there was a spate of news articles about California’s trans-fat ban due to go into effect on New Year’s Day. I voted against this new law.

California has the 4th-highest unemployment rate, a $21 billion budget deficit, and a severe water shortage, so, what do lawmakers do? Pass a law that will fine restaurants $1,000 for using margarine in their foods.

One of the articles said:

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, criticized the new law as an example of nanny government with little beneficial impact.

“Not every human problem deserves a political solution,” he said. “That’s the fallacy my colleagues engage in.”

I’ve been criticized for voting against all sorts of nanny state bills that expand the police power of government in the name of making us safe from ourselves. I’ve often argued that we might as well pass a blanket bill outlawing stupidity and rudeness in California.

Since 2004, I and most of my Republican colleagues have opposed bills that:

• Mandate the kinds of light bulbs we use
• Outlawed the spanking of children by parents
• Banned texting in cars (we already had a law against reckless driving and this new law is near-impossible to enforce as dialing a number remains legal)
• Mandated costly home energy audits at the time of a house sale

And, if we had the time, the list would go on for pages.

Is it any wonder Forbes magazine ranks California as having the worst combination of taxes and regulations of any state in America?

Lest those in other, more fortunate venues chortle at California’s misfortune remember, for better or for worse, what starts in California often spreads to the nation. One of the chief vectors of California’s Big Government infection is Senator Barbara Boxer, who approves of all of this liberty-infringing, Big Government nonsense. In fact, she regularly mines the ore of California’s bad laws for inspiration for her own Big Government agenda in Washington.

Liberals are driven to burden us with law upon law for one overriding reason: the conceited will to control because they think they know what’s best for all of us. Putting a stop to this is a strong motivator for me as I work to unseat Sen. Boxer in 2010.