When Words Come Back to Haunt You

Paul Krugman yesterday pointed out a major McCain gaffe that will come back to haunt him as the economy becomes the major issue of the election:

Here’s what McCain has to say about the wonders of market-based health reform:

Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking , would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.

Oops (I added the bold in for emphasis). Sorry to rain on McCain's "blame greedy Wall Street" parade, but I don't think anyone's going to forget that McCain helped promote the regulatory failures that led to these massive bank blowouts. Most people don't understand the moral hazard issues with the current system of mortgage-backed securities and the problems of accounting sheet voodoo and banking mistrust, but one thing's for sure: public sentiment is shifting towards more regulation, and John McCain's on the wrong side of the tracks.

Update: I forgot to add one more important part. Since deregulation worked so well for the financial system, it will work well for health care, right?

Worried About Trans Fat? Here's a Suggestion...

New York City recently got a lot of press about banning artificial trans fat from restaurant food by 2008. The media, in general, has made a lot of hay about the dangers posed by trans fat, almost like the killer bees or the flesh-eating virus were back to attack but in our food this time. This campaign is good, to a degree. Trans fat is bad for your health, increasing your chance of heart disease. Not only does it raise "bad" cholesterol, like saturated fat does, but it also lowers "good" cholesterol.

Since the biggest (and only agreed upon) risk of consuming trans fat is coronary heart disease, I find it interesting that all these bans only affect artificial trans fat. What I mean is that we consume plenty of natural trans fat in other foods. Artificial trans fat comes from partially hydrogenated oils used in some fast food, snack food, fried food, and baked goods. Natural trans fat comes from the milk and body fat of ruminants (cows, among others)- dairy and beef.

Moreover, not eating meat reduces your overall chance of coronary heart disease by 24% (not eating meat is the #1 best way to reduce your risk of this #1 killer in human beings 65 and older- and since 75 is the average lifespan of Americans, coronary heart disease is kinda your #1 best chance of death). So, if you are concerned about trans fat (or coronary heart disease, as that's the only agreed upon risk of trans fat), you might want to consider reducing your consumption of meat and dairy products. (Reduction being the key, you don't have to be vegetarian or vegan; reduction of bad habits is the best way to go with anything, right?)

Anyway, the political point of this post is about the bans that are popping up around the country (especially in liberal places). I am generally a person who prefers not to ban things that cause harm to the person who is using that thing only (although, there is a point that the bans are on restaurants, not on individuals from making foods with trans fat). For example, I am against banning cigarettes for individual use (as long as you minimize harm to others not consenting to the second-hand smoke). Therefore, I think it might be a tad overbearing to ban artificial trans fat. BUT, if you are going to ban artificial trans fat because it is a health hazard (meaning it causes coronary heart disease), you should instead ban meat since it is a much larger hazard.