> After the smoke clears from the election, I am > wondering if anyone thinks that there could be > interest in a smoke-free Minneapolis campaign.
There may be interest, but I strongly oppose this idea. Government buildings and other public spaces that need to be accessable to everyone should be (and are) non smoking. Privately owned businesses should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not they wish to be smoking, non smoking, or zoned. I've got a friend who is a fairly rabid right winger. We tend to disagree a lot, but I can see how concepts like this are the sort of thing that trigger his libertarian oriented fears. Here's an excerpt from his song "Socialism Slavery": "I can hear them come marching They come to kick down my door Just because I was smoking In a house with a baby next door" If liberals and progressives want the "right" to take their suggestions regarding social services and the environment seriously, they need to stay out of private businesses and people's personal lives. > California's public health policy was based on the > premise that employees should not have to risk > second hand smoke damage to their health as a > condition of employment. It is the best argument I've heard put forth for the concept, but it still doesn't fly. Employees choose where they work. If they don't want to work for a place that has smoking, they shouldn't do so. If they want to have their place of work go non-smoking, they should organize and convince management to do so. If no one wants to work at a place that has smoking, those places are going to have to pay higher salaries or go out of business. I'd imagine non-smoking businesses could make a case to health insurance providers to reduce their costs as well. That's how the free market's supposed to work, anyway. > Of course, most of us who don't smoke would greatly > enjoy being able to hear music and go dancing > without inhaling second hand smoke as well. You should have a right to do so, but those of us who like smokey blues bars and irish pubs should have a right to enjoy those as well. > It has always amazed me why bars don't try this > policy voluntarily given the number of people who do > not go out because of people blowing "exhaust > fumes" in their face. This, to me, is the crux of the matter and the right approach. If a bar, coffee house, or club wants to go non smoking, they should do so and market themselves to people who want to go to smoke free environments. If there are enough people who go there, the business will succeed. If the business has other merits as well, it's likely that even smokers will also attend. There are also places like Cahoots in St. Paul that has a non-smoking front room, a smoking backroom and a big steel door and a hallway seperating the two. The barrista is located in the non-smoking room. If your complaint is that there aren't any (or enough) non smoking venues, you're probably not alone. Sounds like a good business opportunity to me, good luck on it! I've got some friends who will want to know about the opening. In general, this is a subject where people who I generally agree with end up looking really bad. It's fascist and totalitarian! What right does anyone have to tell a person that they can't go to a privately owned bar and have a scotch and a cigar? Socialism when it comes to making sure people can eat, be educated, get basic housing and health care, etc. is a good thing. Socialism when it comes to over-controlling private businesses and telling individuals what choices they can and can not make is a bad thing. Free markets and freedom of choice for me, thanks. - Jason Goray, Sheridan, NE Having a hard time picturing Hard Times, Halftime Rec, or Ground Zero w/o the haze. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
