Thursday, August 12, 2010

Nanny State: USDOT Seeks to Ban Airline Peanuts

Some people have peanut allergies.

Newsflash: If you have a peanut allergy, don't take the airline peanuts.

There. Problem solved in the real world.

Washington is not the real world. According to the United States Government, People with peanut allergies are too stupid to refuse peanuts that may harm them. DOT wants to ban them.

How dumb, how totally arrogant does the Government have to get before we start repealing their authority to control every little thing?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find it extremely ironic that you posted a link to the Daily Caller's post regarding the DOT Peanut Ban yet your comments clearly shows you did not read a word of it!

If you had read the post you'd know that people with peanut allergies DON'T HAVE TO CONSUME (that means to eat) THEM TO HAVE A POSSIBLY FATAL REACTION. The peanut protein can remain on a surface for an indefinite amount of time and does not magically disappear into thin air. Get your facts straight. Then post something intelligent.

Conservatarian said...

Point well taken ... to some extent. The Daily caller article also said,

"Many airlines have responded to this shift in consumer preference. According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), nine domestic airlines, including Continental, United, American, and US Airways, have voluntarily discontinued serving peanuts in coach class. Other airlines, such as Delta, continue to serve peanuts in-flight, but offer to create a peanut-free “buffer-zone” around any passenger with severe peanut allergies.

"Although many airlines have policies for handling passengers with severe allergies, they can be inconsistently enforced and difficult to find online. The DOT’s Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections rule would try to address these problems by setting a single industry-wide standard: no peanuts.

"The problem with a blanket policy is that it limits consumer options. This blanket policy would be no different. Because consumers have widely varying demands, mandating a single approach for meeting their needs is always going to make one group happy at the expense of another. In effect, an industry-wide mandate is a zero-sum game, and the Department of Transportation decides the winners and losers.

"Allowing airlines to pursue different policies is part of the solution, not a part of the problem. As long as airlines give customers different options, the customers themselves can choose the flight that fits their needs best. The peanut-allergic businessman has different needs than the Georgian peanut-farmer, and their airline options should reflect this difference."

There is no need for the nanny-state government to mandate anything.

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