Tag Archives: Nanny State

Regulation of the Day 74: Grass Length in Jupiter, Florida

Posted on November 18, 2009 | 1 comment

In Jupiter, Florida, residents whose lawns are taller than eight inches risk $250 per day fines. The city council voted last night on raising the fines to $1,000 per day.

Jupiter, of course, is about as far away from America as one can get.

But wait, there’s more:

The town code regulates items such as when garbage cans can be placed outside, noise volume, parking of boats, heights of fences, the number of tenants and landscaping. Lawns cannot be higher than eight inches in developed residential areas.

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Regulation of the Day 71: Waistlines

Posted on November 12, 2009 | 4 comments

waistline

In Japan, it is illegal for men to have a waist larger than 33.5 inches. The limit for women is 35.4 inches. Those in violation are forced to undergo counseling (Hat tip to CEI colleague Megan McLaughlin).

The law, passed last year, is part of an effort to keep obesity rates low and avoid related health problems.

One problem with using wasitlines as the primary metric is that results can vary among measurers. According to one article, “Satoru Yamada, a doctor at Kitasato Institute Hospital in Tokyo, published a study two years ago in which several doctors measured the waist of the same person. Their results varied by as much as 7.8 centimeters.”

That’s almost ten percent of the average waistline. It is sad that Japanese regulators have a strong enough nanny-state streak to legislate allowable physical dimensions. But the lack of precision in enforcing their edict must be maddening for the people involved.

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Regulation of the Day 62: Government Employees and Texting while Driving

Posted on October 19, 2009 | Comments Off on Regulation of the Day 62: Government Employees and Texting while Driving

distracted-driving-texting
Many, if not all, people depend on government employees to be positive role models for their children. They can give kids something to which to aspire; to show what they can be if they only work hard and stay in school. To give us all a walking, talking example of a life well lived.

It is in that spirit that Executive Order No. 13513 prohibits federal employees and contractors from texting while driving while on duty.

As the Order reminds us, “With nearly 3 million civilian employees, the Federal Government can and should demonstrate leadership in reducing the dangers of text messaging while driving.” The texting-while driving ban will “set an example for State and local governments, private employers, and individual drivers.”

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