Of Rats And Men

Reason's Hit and Run covers this New York Post editorial on the recent discovery of numerous rats at a New York City Taco Bell which had passed it's health inspection only one day earlier.

Jacob Sullum, writing on Hit and Run is right- sometimes the government really does a bad job when it comes to simple health inspections, and perhaps the private sector would do a better job. But as libertarians who'd like to see the law actually move in a more libertarian direction, let's look at the New York Post's editorial in a more positive light. Getting government health policy to move away from truly freedom crushing measures like anti-smoking laws and trans fat bans and focus solely on true public health concerns like restaurant sanitation is, as I said, a step in the right direction. Sometimes I think libertarians get too preachy for their own good. When the rest of the world supports moving the law in a more libertarian direction, let's not chastise them for not being libertarian enough. There's plenty of people who agree with the simple premise that government should not take away our ability to make choices for ourselves. Convincing people that a system of private health inspections is more efficient and effective than a government system is a bit more difficult.

After all, deep down most Americans just want to eat dinner at their local Professor P. J. Cornucopia's Fantastic Foodmagorium and Great American Steakery without any hassles.