A dispatch from CBS News and the Associated Press reports that the Hispanic Federation and the New York State branch of the NAACP, as well as the Korean-American Grocers Association of New York, are participating in a legal fight against Mayor Bloomberg's ban on sales of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces.
I'm against the soda ban, but I'm also against the use of race-based disparate impact litigation to overturn policies that would be better overturned through the political process. So I'd prefer if the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation withdrew from the court action and instead concentrated on getting a new mayor elected who would overturn the size limit. Nonetheless, the participation of the black and Hispanic groups is a useful reminder that excessive or arbitrary regulation often does have negative effects on small businesses, minority-owned businesses, or poorer consumers who lack the clout to win exceptions to the regulations.
