Quote of the Day: Donald Boudreaux

Regarding the graphic pictures that, by government decree, will adorn all cigarette packs sold in America, Christopher Buckley writes: “I’m not against the new cigarette labels, but I’m not sure I’m for them. Cigarettes kill – no argument there. So does alcohol. If that pack of Marlboros is going to look like a page from a medical textbook, shouldn’t bottles of Bud carry pictures of car crashes, or cirrhotic livers, or beaten wives? Shouldn’t Big Macs come with photos of early contestants from ‘The Biggest Loser’?” (“Thank you for not warning me about smoking,” June 24).

True dat. But why not also require that graphic warning pictures be draped over government buildings? The Federal Reserve building, for example, might be covered with a huge picture of a graph showing that, since the Fed’s creation, the dollar has lost 96 percent of its value. Truth in advertising would be further promoted if the U.S. Capitol’s exterior featured a supersized photo of Rep. Barney Frank who, after applauding Fannie and Freddie for promoting more home-ownership than would be promoted by the market, proclaimed in 2003 'I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing.'

And from the roof of the White House to its lawn, let's hang ginormous photographs of American troops returning home in body bags from Vietnam, Iraq, and other theaters of war in which Uncle Sam had no business acting.”

~ Donald Boudreaux