I always had the entrepreneurial bug. I had a lemonade stand. I sold newspapers door-to-door. I mowed lawns and shoveled snow. Anything to make a buck. And yes, I confess, I participated in school bake sales. If I did that today, apparently I would get more than detention. New York City's Education Department has banned bake sales! It wasn't enough getting their hands on vending machines, to limit sugar consumption. No, they had to go after the fudge brownies and the chocolate chip cookies and cheesecakes.

Mayor Bloomberg is at it again. The goal, as always, is noble. Our kids are overweight. Many are obese. They sit on couches, play video games, watch TV eight hours a day and never ever walk anywhere.

Of course, they are not alone. Their parents are overweight. They are obese. They sit on couches, and yes, play video games, watch TV eight hours a day, and never walk anywhere.

But, surprise, the rules for parents are different. PTA groups are allowed to sell goodies, after lunch time. On weekends after 6pm, they can sell anything they want. The Education Department says their data shows a link between student's health and performance on tests. They say 40 percent of the kids are overweight and obese. You don't need to check their stats. Just go to any school.

But many of these bake sales are helping support school athletics. So does it make sense to ban the one thing that might encourage a solution? Administrators say there are other ways to raise money: Sell T-shirts, or have a walk-a-thon. But ask anyone who's ever had to be "sponsored" for a race, and they'll tell you its hard work that doesn't pay off.

The mayor has made the city's "wellness" an important part of his administration. His cigarette ban has taken off, and expanded around the world. It's a smart way to stigmatize smoking, and in the long run can really save on health care costs. The transfat ban that followed has not shown the same results. Congestion pricing -- aimed at cutting traffic and improving air quality -- never made it through.

It appears another New York City initiative, posting calorie counts on restaurant menus, is failing. It seems people who go to McDonald' s don't care how fat they get. There's a big shock.

New Yorkers, and Americans at large, have a fierce independent streak. They don't like big brother telling them what to do, or more importantly, what to eat.

So the city can post calories and ban bake sales but it won't matter if parents don't take the initiative.

And if selling fudge brownies helps the athletic department, I say we should all heed Marie Antoinette, and let them eat cake.

Dick Brennan is WNYW's chief political correspondent. The Queens Courier published a version of this commentary.