The First Lady's Misguided Crusade

Michelle Obama has a column in the Washington Post about the supposed wonders of giving schools a bigger role in the feeding of children. My first reaction is to roll my eyes. I understand that every First Lady picks a pet cause. I just wish they found causes that didn't involve bigger government. My second reaction is that there should be zero federal government involvement in education, much less micro-managing menus in local schools. My third reaction is that parents should be in charge of the feeding of children. And my final reaction is that if the nanny-state nitwits in Washington really want to deal with childhood obesity, they should outlaw video games, computers, and TVs. I suspect those are the main culprits causing chubbier kids. But please don't share this blog post with any politicians. They might actually propose such a law. As this excerpt indicates, the First Lady already is pushing a bad idea, so we don't want to give them ideas to make the bill even worse.

The Child Nutrition Bill working its way through Congress has support from both Democrats and Republicans. This groundbreaking legislation will bring fundamental change to schools and improve the food options available to our children. ...the bill will make it easier for the tens of millions of children who participate in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program -- and many others who are eligible but not enrolled -- to get the nutritious meals they need to do their best. It will set higher nutritional standards for school meals by requiring more fruits, vegetables and whole grains while reducing fat and salt. It will offer rewards to schools that meet those standards. And it will help eliminate junk food from vending machines and a la carte lines -- a major step that is supported by parents, health-experts, and many in the food and beverage industry. ...That's why it is so important that Congress pass this bill as soon as possible. We owe it to the children who aren't reaching their potential because they're not getting the nutrition they need during the day. We owe it to the parents who are working to keep their families healthy and looking for a little support along the way. We owe it to the schools that are trying to make progress but don't have the resources they need. And we owe it to our country -- because our prosperity depends on the health and vitality of the next generation.

Greetings from Switzerland

I'm in Switzerland for a couple of speeches in Geneva and one speech in Zurich. I'd like to say I'm also visiting my money, but that would only be true if I had enough money for a Swiss account. Alas.

Switzerland is an admirable nation for many reasons, especially its strong human rights policy in defense of financial privacy. But I also admire its fealty to federalism. Indeed, unlike the United States, it has largely kept the central government from becoming a dominant force in the nation's fiscal policy. As this study from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity (authored by a Swiss expert) explains, more than two-thirds of taxing and spending takes place at the canton and municipal level. In America, by contrast, the federal government dominates, with two-thirds of taxing and spending coming from Washington.

One final observation. I'm staying in what might be called the United Nations district of Geneva, and one can't help but notice all the urbane foreigners - particularly from the developing world - wandering the town and patronizing the tony restaurants. Maybe I'm just a cranky libertarian, but I can't stop thinking about the tremendous misallocation of human capital this represents (not to mention the huge waste of money). Many of these people are probably the "best and brightest" from their various homelands, and they presumably could contribute to their nations' prosperity by being back home doing something productive. But thanks to the proliferation of international bureaucracies, few of which can make even an implausible claim of doing anything worthwhile, these people are net liabilities rather than net assets.