When it comes to most matters before them, Albany pols follow a tried-and-true formula: zero discussion, and all decisions made by a handful of leaders behind closed doors.
So it was surprising to see debate break out in our state Legislature. But that’s exactly what happened in Albany last week, when state senators spent 45 minutes debating the truly weighty proposition before them: whether to designate yogurt as New York’s our official snack.
The bill was put forward by Republican Michael Ranzenhofer after fourth-graders from Genesee County, some of whom come from farm families, suggested it.
But Ranzenhofer faced tough questions. One senator wanted to know whether he had considered other foods, such as the potato chip or the raisin. Another asked about the message designating yogurt would send to the state’s lactose-intolerant. There was even a request to define the word “snack.”
In the end, the senators passed the measure by a 52 to 8 vote. The bill now heads to the Assembly where presumably our pols will have even more tough questions.
We’re all for yogurt. It’s a vital industry for the Empire State, which has overtaken California as America’s leading yogurt producer. And there’s nothing wrong with expressing pride in a home-state product.
But now that our state pols have gotten a taste of legislative debate, perhaps they would consider extending the practice to other issues so far deemed too trivial for open discussion: say, how many billions the state will spend, how high our taxes should be or whether legislators should be allowed to hide outside income from voters.