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Just heard on the radio...
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handofdave
handofdave
3515 posts

Edited Sep 28, 2009, 17:51
Re: Just heard on the radio...
Sep 28, 2009, 17:41
Squid Tempest wrote:
Who determines what is a sin?

We don't question luxury taxes, in most cases, do we? What is a luxury? Something that people can live without. Same as with 'sin' products... nobody's gonna die if they can't have a cig and a swill. And as I pointed out, the industries that profit from selling these things are helping to create health and crime problems that heap burdens on the system. Who pays for those?

Squid Tempest wrote:
Besides, the money raised doesn't always go to the appropriate places, but instead just fills the government coffers where they've spent too much on other stuff I don't agree with like frinstance the war machine.

In other words I don't think these sort of taxes are really designed to reduce "sin" rather than screw more cash out of the populace, usually most affecting the poorer parts of society in the process.


Tax revenues can be directed. Granted, it does happen that money raised for specific purposes do end up in the wrong place... the states that took a cut of the tobacco industry settlements were supposed to spend that on smoking cessation programs and such. Unfortunately a lot of it ended up going elsewhere.

If you're poor, you probably ought to think twice about spending your limited resources on booze and cigs, which nobody needs to survive. I know that sounds didactic, but personal responsibility and restraint is a pretty reasonable virtue.

Nobody who's voluntarily paying for things that they don't need, make them sick, and cost society in the form of violence, auto accidents, etc. is being 'victimized'.

What pisses me off much more than raising prices on 'sin' stuff is the outrageous climb of housing, energy, healthcare prices. Those are essentials and far more gouging than any tax on beer.

Perhaps if we called it 'non-essential goods' instead of 'sins' it'd sound more reasonable?
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