Dealing with Lefties

My friend Gary Popkin, the Libertarian candidate for Brooklyn Borough President, has a wicked sense of humor. Check out the following excerpt from the June 15-28 issue of The Indypendent:

"McDonald's have introduced so-called 'healthy' options to their menus, but rather than this being through their concern for the public's health, it is merely an attempt to capture customers who wouldn't eat their usual fare."

And here is Gary's reply:

Dear Indypendent letters editor:

It makes my blood boil to think of the greedy and vile behavior of McDonald's you reported ("Big Mac Attack," The Indypendent, June 15 - 28, 2005). A more egregious example of this unacceptable practice occurred when General Motors first started offering smaller vehicles with better gas mileage not through their concern with the environment, but merely as an attempt to capture customers who wouldn't buy their usual gas-guzzlers. The bastards.

As Borough President I would investigate every instance of a business in Brooklyn changing its product line, and impose fines if product lines were changed merely to get more customers and without any socially redeeming reason.

This concept can and should be extended to all features of commerce. If a retail store improves its lighting not out of concern for safeguarding the eyesight of its customers but merely to capture customers who would not shop in a dark store, it would be fined. If a store devotes more resources to keeping its sidewalks cleaner not out of concern with complying with New York City law but merely to capture customers who prefer a cleaner environment, it would be fined. Let's show them we will not stand for the unconscionable business practice, all too common, of trying to attract more customers.

Gary Popkin
Libertarian candidate for Brooklyn Borough President