| Mike Bishop says we may yet get a vote on the workplace smoking ban this week. He himself prefers that we leave things up to Magic Market Fairies to sort out. “I think the House will pass just about whatever we send them,” Bishop said. “I think that really is what it comes down to. There’s a lot of pent up demand to vote on this.”
...snip...“My objection is that families and people have the ability to make personal decisions on their own,” Bishop said. “I’m like any other parent, if I don’t like a smoking environment, I don’t go. “If enough people choose to make that personal decision we could move the market with our business activity.”
This would be well and good if the restaurant and bar owners were actually forced to pay the costs for allowing people to smoke on their premises, and we may yet get that if the state Legislature continues to dick around on this issue. Eventually, someone will contract lung cancer after working as a bartender and will sue their former employer for keeping an unsafe workplace. It's kind of like the set of circumstances that now explains why it's so tough to get served in bars if you're falling down drunk. Again, I think that Mike Bishop less believes in free markets than he believes in a world without consequences. Meanwhile, I'm probably not the only human being on Earth who thinks this may be a pre-Election Year treat to the people of Michigan from a Legislature whose leaders want to run for statewide office next year. A workplace smoking ban polls well, and business owners who help subsidize health insurance are starting to revolt at the high costs of unhealthy lifestyle choices (i.e. smoking and drinking lots and lots and lots of booze). So, it makes natural sense for legislative leaders who can't properly fund K-12 education to make concessions elsewhere. Merry Christmas, Michigan. You'll be able to eat your cheeseburgers in a smoke-free environment. Just don't pay attention to what's happening in your local school district. |
