Blog #2

Free Blog #2

            I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I wanted to write my free blog about. Being that I am going to school for nursing, I always keep my eye out for articles in the news that have to do with health or the medical field.  When I was in high school, I can remember that we had “brunch,” which was simply a passing period between classes around 10:30 am, and also a time for the school to sell food.  They offered processed food as well as food made in the cafeteria.  The food offered wasn’t healthy at all, and for this reason, I think that changes need to be made.  The changes need to start at the home, but if the parents are not willing to enforce the changes at home, maybe it would be wise for the government to step in and make changes?  “In order to prevent and reduce the number of children who experience childhood obesity, the government is trying to set nutritional standards for vending machines in addition to the cafeteria standards they have already set” (Nixon, 2012).  Because so many children are not bringing food from home and are eating food from vending machines, the Obama administration is concerned that “school vending machines stocked with potato chips, cookies, and sugary soft drinks contribute to childhood obesity, which has more than tripled in the past 30 years” (Nixon, 2012).  From what I’ve learned in class in relation to this article, “conservatives would prefer that free markets regulate the economy, not the government” (Newell, p. 104).  The conservatives would like the parents to regulate the issues of the cafeteria and the vending machines, and the government to stay out of the entire matter.  The liberals, on the other hand, have an entirely different opinion on the matter at hand.  They “put faith in the ability of government to direct economic activity.  Liberals also suggest government activity as the solution to market failure” (Newell, p. 104).  On this matter, I stand somewhere in the middle.   “What we have is a fragmented system where some schools do a good job of limiting access to junk food and others don’t” (Nixon, 2010).  This comment is entirely true, and what is needed is a consistent system so we don’t have schools and children that fall through the cracks and are consistently being feed junk food all the time.  In my opinion, I think that if the parents and administrators of the school are not taking care of the problems with the unhealthy eating, then something needs to be done, and the government might need to step in and do something.  Hopefully in the future we can see a combination of parents influencing their children to eat healthier, which will require less government influence, but if necessary, government might have to step in and do their part.

Bibliography

Newell, Prindle, Riddlesperger.  Texas Politics, 11^th edition.  Wadsworth Cengage Learning.  2011

Nixon, Ron. "New Guidelines Planned on School Vending Machines." New York Times [New York] 12 02 2012, 12022012 n. pag. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/us/politics