Here are my viewpoints on this and the reasons I posted it:
1. In a "democratic" Capitalist country, any business should be able to open its doors anywhere it wants to. If it is not suited for the location,
it will not thrive and will close. Self-limiting problem. (And please let's not go off into strip clubs near schools and gambling halls near churches
because I am not going there!)
2. The fact that "my" health costs you money is a symptom of the fact that the entire system is corrupt, flawed, and ineffective. In a country based
on independence, personal freedom, and personal responsibility, my lifestyle choices and my health
should have absolutely nothing to do with
what you pay for health care, or health insurance. Forcing me to diet, or quit smoking, or wear my seat belt, does nothing to fix the system, it only
takes more freedoms away from all of us.
What's next, I can't buy a donut at Dunkin' if I'm overweight? Will I someday be required to run on a treadmill for an hour a day so that your
health insurance costs won't rise? How far are you willing to take this? To what extent are we going to allow personal freedoms to be restricted in
the name of "health care costs" and "insurance costs?"
When will bungee jumping, motocross, skydiving, horseback riding and other 'risky' behaviors start being restricted because they "cost taxpayers
too much?"
It is coming quickly that I will not be able to smoke a cigarette inside my own vehicle, anywhere in public including open air venues, and someday I
may not even be able to smoke inside my own house, depending on where it is. But people can still drink alcohol in public, or in a restaurant, or in a
bar. And DO NOT tell me that smoking or obesity costs "American taxpayers" more than alcohol-related accidents, illnesses, and deaths.
What is really happening here is that we are slowly being taught that it is acceptable for us to make choices about how other people should live
because it's "for the greater good." That way lies the end of a free America.