Coming soon to a school near you: a basketball team-sponsored…asparagus sale? Don’t act so surprised; the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts is well on its way to such a ridiculous thing.
As of August 1 in Massachusetts, schools will have to put a stop to basically any type of sweets or “competitive foods” – foods sold during the day such as candy which compete with meals served in the cafeteria. That includes bake sales and other fundraisers, which are the calorie-filled bread and butter of school organizations everywhere.
But it also goes one step further: not only will the ban hit foods sold during the day, but also door-to-door fundraisers, and even bake sales and the likes at football or other other games. Even community events and banquets at schools will be schools will be regulated.
I don’t need to tell you how ridiculous this sounds from the very start. One step in this direction might make sense. For example, ruling out bake sales during lunchtimes in the cafeteria would be acceptable. No one wants their kid foregoing a real lunch for fudge and a cookie. But all times of the day and week? Give me a break.
These new rules probably won’t be very popular with the people of Massachusetts either. A Rasmussen poll shows that 63% of Americans oppose so-called sin taxes on soda pop, junk food and the like. While not the same as what Massachusetts is doing, these rules are even more ridiculous and probably even more unpopular.
I personally can’t wait to see school band’s selling “caramel-free caramel apples,” if only for affirmation that we have finally jumped off the deep end.
As C. S. Lewis said, “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” The good intentions of these Massachusetts bureaucrats have gone well beyond what is acceptable and they seem to not even care.
