Analysis Of What You Eat Is Your Business By Radley Balko

Radley Balko is the author of, “What you Eat is Your Business,” in this article he explains why he is against how much control the government is trying to exercise over the rising number of cases of obesity in the United States. Balko believes that the government is treating the American health problem all wrong. He states in his article," Your wellbeing, shape, and condition have increasingly been deemed matters of 'public health,' instead of matters of personal responsibility." (467) In order to better illustrate his point about government being too involved with what he believes is a private matter, he mentions politicians such as then Senator Clinton and President Bush, whom have taken up arms for the sake of public health. Balko asks the thought provoking question, "And if the

However, he goes from one extreme, which is his view of the socialist public health, to another, his idea of health being completely one person's own responsibility. From a linear perspective his belief that good health should be rewarded and bad health punished makes sense, however he does not consider circumstances outside of the realm of a person's control. He does not take into account families in which children are born with defects who need health insurance, or victims of accidents of no fault of their own who can't afford their medical bills without that help. The reasoning behind Balko’s position is that since he believes that he is relatively healthy then why should he be forced to contribute to help those in need. Not once does he consider that he may be the one in desperate need someday. If he was to be put into a position where he needs to use his insurance, his arguments might have changed a