The editorial “Pass, but delay, sign crackdown” (Sept. 9) contained a dubious assertion: “… the council’s majority votes on these two issues (smoking ban and Harrison Square) were decisions that will benefit the majority of their constituents.”
While most Fort Wayne residents are non-smokers, most of them are not concerned about a trace of tobacco smoke in the air. The few who care have proved to be insufficient to support the restaurants that became non-smoking before the ban. Restaurants, bars, private clubs and smokers certainly don’t benefit. The real beneficiaries are the self-centered fussbudgets who demand the right to go anywhere, anytime and never be even slightly offended – a small minority, I hope!
As for Harrison Square, attendance at the current stadium clearly shows that baseball is not that popular. Ninety percent of Fort Wayne residents will never enter Harrison Square. They will, however, pay for it.
Lastly, the criterion of “benefiting the majority” is a dangerous approach to justifying legislation. The proper role of government, as expressed in the U.S. Constitution, is to protect the rights of minorities. Majorities can always prevail if they care to try.
Soooo, I'm a bit confused. The constitutions is suppose to protect the rights of the country? So, we're suppose to protect the rights of what this guy called the small minority group of self- centered Fussbudgets and the 10% of the citizens that you say will go to Harrison Square? I always thought we had a representative democracy - being that we elect people to be the voice of the majority of like minded people that elected them.
+2 points for the made up statistics. But, this guy forgot to mention that liquor and food receipts keep going up. Weird.
5 comments:
Those are entire county receipts. If the media would do their job, they would see the whole story.
Anyone have knowledge or know of any Fort Wayne bars that have gone out of business as a direct result of the smoking ban ?
Jennifer: Fort Wayne represents 70 or 80 percent of Allen County (by population). If food and beverage receipts are going up in the county, they're going up in the city.
The media ARE doing their jobs right. The naysayers just don't like the answer.
I have no clue as to what the city or county count is. If each gets a part of the cut then the number is out there and someone apparently just does not want to share it. If they do not share it then chances are it would take a great deal of number crunching to get to it.
I'm not buying that sales went up in the city until I see the breakdown between the city & the county. Let's compare apples to apples. Computer spreadsheets can do number crunching in seconds.
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