you'll see two numbers next to that Big Mac: $3.79 and 540 - the price and the number of calories you'll swallow along with the sandwich. Fines for noncompliance run as high as $2,000.
Bloomberg's concern for his constituency transcends the normal role of an elected official. Such is his level of compassion that he is almost like, say, a big brother to his electorate, helping shrink waistlines while swelling the city's coffers.
There is, however, a deficiency in that recent initiative. I perceive a weak spot, a point of vulnerability. And just maybe, if Mayor Nutter exerts some leadership and closes this loophole, our city can transcend Gotham and step out of the shadows that have for too long defined us as merely an Amtrak stop between New York and Washington.
The way I see it, New York City stopped short of physically dissuading its citizens from perpetuating our country's roundward spiral toward corpulence. That's where we can go them one better.
So I'm hereby proposing to Mayor Nutter and City Council the implementation of a "Philadelphia caloric credit," modeled after the better-known carbon credits, which are a means of mitigating the effects of global warming. Just as carbon credits are used as a tool to reduce greenhouse gases by allowing emitting parties to buy "indulgences," a caloric-credit program would similarly reduce caloric intake by attaching a financial value to our eating.
How it would work: Effective immediately, scales will be installed in every city restaurant. The number needed will depend on the fondness that the city's corpulent exhibit for a particular eating establishment. I'm thinking one scale for a Saladworks, two for a deli, and three or more for a cheesesteak establishment.
Next to each scale will be an easy-to-decipher listing of the recommended weight for individuals of differing heights and ages.
