THE HEALTH NAZIS – “NO SOUP KITCHENS FOR YOU!”
Posted by Tim Bryce on April 12, 2012
– Oh, oh, look out, government bureaucrats are at it again.
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A few odd stories have surfaced in the news recently which caught my attention, all involving the feeding of the homeless. Evidently there is a movement underway by local governments to curb donations of food supplies to soup kitchens. At first I dismissed it as an obscure story, but when I saw it recur in different places including New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Nashville, and elsewhere, I knew something was underfoot.
Local departments of health have become concerned about the dietary requirements of the homeless and want to control their salt, sugar, fat and fiber intake. Their analysis of the soup kitchens contends the homeless are not getting the proper nutrition and, consequently, the Health Nazis have passed legislation prohibiting food donations thereby forcing a lot of kitchens to close their doors and turn the homeless away from their establishments.
Charitable organizations who have historically provided free food to kitchens are stumped by the legislation, including churches, synagogues, scouting, and other groups. Government do-gooders think they know better and want to expand the Nanny state by dictating the food to be distributed. This of course represents another instance of government expanding into our lives. Inevitably, a new layer of bureaucracy will be created to oversee soup kitchen operations and provide the necessary food, all at the expense of the taxpayers. Frankly, the general public is perplexed why the government is getting involved in this matter as it was funded by donations by people who see it as their civic duty to help those less fortunate than themselves. Instead of thanking them for their contributions though, the government appears bent on complicating their lives by mandating how they will help. In other words, the homeless have become pawns in government expansion.
This caused me to wonder, if I go to a restaurant and offer a friend a bite of my sandwich, would I be in violation of the law? Probably as I didn’t first check his socio-economic status and the nutritional content of the sandwich which undoubtedly will not be up to government code.
Frankly, this is another fine example of Parkinson’s law in government whereby, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” In other words, they are expanding their duties and responsibilities simply to look busy and responsible. In reality, they should just butt-out. The homeless probably eat better at the soup kitchens than before they were homeless.
All of this is just as ridiculous as another report I read from the United Kingdom whereby grade schools there have adopted programs prohibiting children from having best friends. Instead, they must all play together as a group. The intent is to prohibit the emotional distress of losing a friend in the event a child moves away or goes to another class. I understand a lot of English parents are becoming “emotionally distressed” themselves over the knuckleheads running the schools over there.
Don’t you just love government sanctioned Socialism?
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
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Copyright © 2012 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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Jenn said
As if the government doesn’t have their hands in ENOUGH areas of our lives–I guess they’d rather see a homeless person starve than get something to eat? It is appalling.
Makes you wonder when people will wake up and realize government should be limited, severely limited!! Why make it any harder for a person who is homeless or in need to find a decent meal? I volunteer at the shelters here– I haven’t seen this where I am–but if I do–I will be saying something to those who represent me. Don’t they realize that by passing these crazy laws they are not only limiting access to something vital (food) but they are also taking away our freedom to choose salty, sugary, foods??
Okay–feathers officially ruffled!! Cheers, Jenn
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Tim Bryce said
Then there is the issue of an elementary school in Massachusetts who is changing the words of his song, “God Bless the USA” to “We Love the USA”…all for political correctness. No, Lee wasn’t happy about it either. See….
http://www.theboot.com/2012/04/05/lee-greenwood-god-bless-the-usa-school-rewritten-lyrics/
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Tim Bryce said
A G.L. of Tampa, Florida wrote…
“This one is a real zinger. I cannot believe we have stooped to this level. Big brother is certainly doing his very BEST to try and keep us under his thumb. Sad thing is it is working, we are loosing more and more of our rights. You would think they would be thrilled that volunteers are doing such a praise worthy job without the help of Big Brother instead of trying to close them down. I won’t even comment on no best friend. That is totally stupid, and insane. Who in the UK thought that one up?”
A J.P. of Toronto, Ontario wrote…
“Yes. To actually prohibit donations of this or that kind of food is going too far. I am left-wing, but not that far left!”
A W.C. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin wrote…
“This is another situation that seems surreal…….people need to wake up!”
A K.B. of New York City wrote…
“Interesting… I can’t believe they’re doing that…so stupid.”
A J.S. of Arizona wrote…
“I can’t believe some of the stories I’ve read regarding this issue, and most of it makes no sense to me at all.”
A J.S. of Skidway Lake, Michigan wrote…
“Ridiculous. I used to work for a vending service company whose unsold products were picked up weekly by a local soup kitchen. Products included pastries, snack crackers and cheese, sandwiches, gelatin, candy, and fruit. There was a very large amount, it was in clean packages and it was feeding people who needed it. If it were thrown away, homeless people would probably be fishing it out of the dumpster, so it would be much less clean and healthy.”
A K.S. of Oklahoma wrote…
“I guess charitable work to help fee the homeless will need to go under ground.”
A A.O. of Palm Harbor, Florida wrote…
“Oh Jesus…… sometimes I just shake my head at these comments and the justification for making them. People! If you love for the government exceeds your concept of common sense you’re screwed if, God-forbid, there is ever a MAJOR, MAJOR disaster and you have to fend for yourselves. On a side note – Tim, I love this line – ‘Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.’ Sounds like half our employees that try and milk their 8 hour day by expanding menial tasks instead of tackling new ones and personally expanding their horizons. (But then again, we are becoming a dependent society that just ‘fills the available time’ playing the game avoiding getting caught – instead of just doing the right thing.)”
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