Am I alone in having mixed feelings about the new cigarette legislation? I mean, isn’t it good that smoking won’t taste as good, will have fewer poisons, less nicotine? Yet…isn’t it also a little uncomfortable when a government comes along and tells you it will legislate and regulate what you do with your life? Which: have you ever had that smart, well-arguing friend to whom you espouse whatever innate libertarian belief you hold then the friend just shakes that belief right out of you?
A challenge I’d like to see: do the reverse – prove that this legislation, which will probably save lives plus cost the government less in health care, prove this legislation is bad. Like most libertarian arguments, in the abstract they seem solid but when you start to touch and feel these arguments, your hand grasps nothing, like a beautiful cloud. (And I say that as a guy who, if pushed, would probably still claim to be a libertarian – or maybe at least would claim to be most comfortable in the company of libertarians.)
