Even though it’s been around for a while in New Jersey, you will start to notice it more and more now as the federal law for calorie count labeling took affect yesterday. Yes, one of the many ridiculous nanny laws that were incorporated into the ACA (affordable care act) also known as Obamacare is now here. Calorie counts on restaurant menus, required in just a few cities until now, are now mandatory nationwide.

Any business with 20 or more locations selling “restaurant-type food,” or food that’s typically eaten soon after purchase, comes under its scope. New York City was the first to require menu labeling, in 2008, with other cities and states quickly following suit. More than 20 such laws have been passed in total, in places such as King County, Wash., and the states of Oregon, California, New Jersey and Maine, though some held off implementation because of the pending national regulation.

Now you may think, "well this is a good idea!" Maybe it will make some people make better choices. But the fact is that there’s enough information out there already that when people want to have unhealthy food, they know it’s unhealthy. And they’re going to do it anyway. And this is going to be a major annoyance for businesses who have already had to prepare for this law and juggle their menus so that they don’t lose business by scaring customers away with high calorie counts. But then again this is not shocking, after all the entire Obama administration was about increasing the power of government and discouraging capitalistic tendencies.

I’ve seen calorie counts on restaurant menus for a while now and I know one thing. I’m not a moron. I can pretty much assume that the loaded fried potato skins with sour cream and cheddar cheese aren't better for me than the steamed tilapia with broccoli. But if I’m at a restaurant like that and I want the potato skins, that’s what I’m having. How many people are really going to now notice the calorie count on the french fries and then change their minds about ordering it? Or for that matter, are we catering to the lowest common denominator assuming that people who eat out at chain restaurants don’t know how fattening food can be? Sigh. You wait, people. The next thing you know potato skins will be illegal. And that’s not even that far fetched. This is another proof of the Government’s great white hope: that if they treat us like their pathetic puppets we will someday become their pathetic puppets.

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