Mayor Bloomberg is changing his hat from mayor to nutritionist. His latest crusade is to encourage food manufacturers and restaurants to reduce the amount of sodium in their products by 20 percent over the next five years and we the citizens of this fair city to not over-indulge in a salt habit. We should resist the urge to sprinkle it willy nilly over our fries and popcorn in a hedonistic disregard of our health.
Last month the mayor met quietly with health officials to plot a course that would effectively reduce the sodium content levels tobe what they were way back in the 1970’s. Citing that too much salt in the diet increases blood pressure and that high blood pressure can cause heart disease and stroke, the mayor, rightfully so, wants us to be more health conscious and protected. Wow, what a guy.
While I appreciate his concern, I much prefer he turn his attention to the other overs that we suffer from … Over inflated taxes, mayoral over-seeing, over average cost of living, over building, over spending by elected officials, politicians serving over term limits…
Our city and state are in a crisis. Governor Paterson has been sounding the horn since last year, and yet I don’t see elected officials ‘overly’ concerned. Instead, the conscientious public servants that they are have opted to protect us from the evils of gay marriage. And now Mayor Mike has added the over-indulgence of salt to his list of New Year’s no nos for us.
So far, the mayor has no plans in effect, yet, to over tax our salt consumptionnor has the mayor announced any plans for a “Para la sal opportunades program,” but experience tells me that a tax is just a pillar of salt away. Will he lead the way in salt reduction by limiting his own consumption of the condemned condiment? Only his blood pressure knows for sure.
Not for nuthin’ but it seems Mayor Mike really is worth his salt. JDelBuono@cnglocal.com
