By News.Heartland.org, Mar. 28, 2015

In 2008, the city of Los Angeles passed strict regulations on fast food restaurants in an effort to force citizens to adopt a better diet. But seven years later, the regulations have had no effect on either the diets or weight of area residents.

Utah State University economics professor William F. Shughart II says the Los Angeles fast-food ban is an example of ineffective legislation. Shughart is a policy advisor for the Heartland Institute, who publishes Budget & Tax News.

‘Legislating Morality Doesn’t Work’

“Once again we see that legislating morality doesn't work,” said William F. Shughart II, the J. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. “These regulations are just an effort to regulate morality. But it turns out that people don't reduce their consumption of the foods that are targeted by these laws.”