The City That Never Stops Nannying You
The City That Never Sleeps has become the Nanny-State That Doesn't Rest. Among the numerous other degradations of quality of life that New York City's leaders have foisted on residents, the most infuriating has to be the unending series of nannying regulations that have come down during the Bloomberg administration.
The NY Post editorial linked to in the title exposes the latest absurdity: ticketing straphangers for the unconscionable crimes of drinking coffee, wearing rollerbaldes, or placing packages on empty seats while riding the subway. This, of course, is on the heels of the restaurant/bar smoking ban that was Bloomberg's first move out of the gates. We were thankfully spared Bloomberg's noise reduction proposals, but these remain yet another assault on personal liberty that hangs over New Yorkers heads.
The loss of personal liberty is troubling in itself and would be a problem for liberty lovers in any part of America, but for New Yorkers it upsets a delicate balance that has prevailed, by local preference, for decades. New Yorkers know that their city is horribly mismanaged, but have suppressed any demands for responsible management and accountability in return for maintaining a high degree of personal liberty. New Yorkers have always seemed to want, and vote for, social laissez-faire and personal liberty than things like functioning schools, efficient and honest administration, and responsible stewardship of infrastructure. As their personal liberty recedes, New Yorkers are losing out on the implicit deal and getting the worst of both worlds. We aren't getting responsible government, and yet we aren't getting left alone either. Everyday after school lets out (at 2:30!) we have to deal with marauding gangs of insolent, and often dangerous, youths riding the subways, but we are prohibited from such a small consolation in the face of this unpleasantness in the form of a little caffeine.
Previous Decline of New York City themed blogging here and here.
The NY Post editorial linked to in the title exposes the latest absurdity: ticketing straphangers for the unconscionable crimes of drinking coffee, wearing rollerbaldes, or placing packages on empty seats while riding the subway. This, of course, is on the heels of the restaurant/bar smoking ban that was Bloomberg's first move out of the gates. We were thankfully spared Bloomberg's noise reduction proposals, but these remain yet another assault on personal liberty that hangs over New Yorkers heads.
The loss of personal liberty is troubling in itself and would be a problem for liberty lovers in any part of America, but for New Yorkers it upsets a delicate balance that has prevailed, by local preference, for decades. New Yorkers know that their city is horribly mismanaged, but have suppressed any demands for responsible management and accountability in return for maintaining a high degree of personal liberty. New Yorkers have always seemed to want, and vote for, social laissez-faire and personal liberty than things like functioning schools, efficient and honest administration, and responsible stewardship of infrastructure. As their personal liberty recedes, New Yorkers are losing out on the implicit deal and getting the worst of both worlds. We aren't getting responsible government, and yet we aren't getting left alone either. Everyday after school lets out (at 2:30!) we have to deal with marauding gangs of insolent, and often dangerous, youths riding the subways, but we are prohibited from such a small consolation in the face of this unpleasantness in the form of a little caffeine.
Previous Decline of New York City themed blogging here and here.
posted by Donny Baseball at 8:41 AM
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