Obama and Chicago's Nanny-State Culture

Souce: NATIONAL REVIEW

The fine folks at Reason recently took a look at how the 35 most-populous cities in the United States "balance individual freedom with government paternalism." Their conclusion:

We ranked the cities on how much freedom they afford their residents to indulge in alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex, gambling and food. And, for good measure, we also looked at the cities' gun laws, use of traffic and surveillance cameras, and tossed in an "other" category to catch weird laws such as New York's ban on unlicensed dancing, or Chicago's tax on bottled water.

The sad news, Chicagoans, is that your town came in dead last. And it wasn't even close.

They shake their heads at a Chicago Tribune columnist who responds,

where some people see paternalism, we weirdos believe that most of Chicago's rules help turn unruly city dwellers into civilized citizens. Big cities are like big families—put a lot of people into a small space and somebody has to be charged with the power to say "Stop it."

Ahem. My mayor is not my father. And big cities are not like big families; the city government does not operate in loco parentis.

I need my copy of Jonah's book to reexamine sections on political leaders as national father figures. I am reminded of the scene in The Last King of Scotland where Idi Amin authorizes a particularly gruesome form of torture, declaring "I am the father of this nation, Nicholas. And you have most... grossly... offended your father."

Anyway — I note this to observe that Barack Obama returned to that city in 1993, and there are few if any references to his objections to the encroaching nanny state mentality, reflected in the city's bans on handguns, public smoking, trans fats, use of cell phones while driving (easier when you no longer drive yourself, I suppose), a recently rescinded ban on foie gras, establishing police cameras, and high taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and bottled water.

Actually, there are a few cases where Obama stood up against what he deemed "mandates on local authorities." One of them was when the state legislature considered a measure to prohibit sex-related shops from opening near schools or places of worship... and even then, he voted, "present."