Vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, of whom I am not a fan, had one very good line that he used a lot when running on the Democratic ticket last summer: “Mind your own damn business.” He didn’t really believe it. Someone who sets up a snitch line during the Covid lockdown doesn’t really believe that government should mind its own business. But, despite Walz’s hypocrisy, it’s still a good thought.
Some of us, though, had the faint hope that Donald Trump would be a little more open to the idea of government minding its own damn business. On some issues, such as mandates for gas stoves and shower heads, he has come through.
But on some other very big issues, he has gone the other way. I warned friends who were thinking that with RFK, Jr. as the head of HHS was a good pick, that we would have “the nanny state on steroids.” I’m turning out to be right.
The latest instance is Marty Makary, whom other friends had said would be a good pick as head of the Food and Drug Administration, and who answers to RFK, Jr.
I wish.
Here’s what my friend Dr. Jeff Singer writes about Makary’s latest:
On May 13, the Food and Drug Administration announced plans to pull fluoride supplements, such as tablets and drops, off the market. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary stated that if people want their children to avoid dental caries, they should have them eat less sugar and practice good dental hygiene. While Dr. Makary emphasizes diet and hygiene, both important, his approach ignores the evidence that fluoride, used appropriately, plays a crucial preventive role.
In short, you plebes, do it my way.
There’s such an obvious solution to the issue of fluoride in water and Jeff lays it out nicely:
It’s one thing when government-monopoly water companies stop fluoridating the water, allowing people uncomfortable with consuming fluoridated water to opt out. It’s an entirely different matter to deny access to fluoride for those who wish to consume it.
If people wish to enjoy its benefits, there are many ways to obtain fluoride: from bottled fluoridated water to fluoride tablets and drops, varnish, and toothpaste. The FDA’s proposal to remove drops and tablets from the market undermines patients’ autonomy by denying them the right to consume a product with benefits that, for them, outweigh its risks.
Jeff goes on, quite rightly, to push his new book, writing:
In my book, Your Body, Your Health Care, I list various ways the government ignores our self-ownership and infringes on our right to make our own health care decisions. If the FDA’s proposed ban on fluoride tablets and drops is adopted, this must be added to the list.
