The Federal Government as Nanny

Joseph White compares the nannyism of previous administrations to the more overt and coercive nanny policies of the past. 

White fairly points out that:

Mr. Obama isn't the first president to see room for improvement in the way citizens conduct their lives. Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan told Americans to "Just Say No" to drugs. And Bill Clinton enacted a sweeping welfare overhaul that aimed, in part, to push recipients into the labor force.

Then he goes on to note the difference in today's nannyism.

But Mr. Obama's efforts go beyond exhortations to a wide-ranging series of policies ready to warn you off bad behavior and favor good choices.

"What's new here is the idea of 'nudging' and changing the choice architecture," says Eric Patashnik, associate professor of politics at the University of Virginia.

Still smoking? The Food and Drug Administration will clamp down on marketing practices designed to encourage the habit -- one that has had a hold on the president himself.

Mr. Obama says Americans should go for a run, or hit the gym. If that poke in the love handles from the presidential pulpit isn't enough, members of Congress are working on proposals to levy taxes on sugary drinks and to require that restaurants put calorie information on menus.

"Nudging," of course, means "taxing you more because we don't like how you choose to live your life."