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Tax to alter people's behavior ? That never ends well for anyone.

by tn13 11y ago

skyyler 11y ago
I'm pretty sure that cigarette taxes have made more than a few people quit smoking.
- distances 11y ago
  Also, many countries tax alcohol heavily to keep the consumption in check. The topic can be debated, but it does have a direct positive effect on public health, domestic violence, and untimely deaths.
  - tn13 11y ago
    But does that factor in the untimely deaths because of moonshine, smuggling and higher compliance cost for those into alcohol business ?
- LanceH 11y ago
  Like Eric Garner.
- refurb 11y ago
  What percentage of the decline in smoking is due to taxes and how much to health education?
  - DanBC 11y ago
    I'd be interested to know. People know that "smoking is bad and increases risk of death", but most people have no idea just how bad or why. The public health message of "smoking is harmful" hasn't changed much over the past twenty years. The amounts of tax and the prohibitions on smoking in public buildings have.
  - tn13 11y ago
    Also add to it the compliance cost of various cigar related laws and problems it has created for otherwise perfectly normal citizens who probably don't even smoke. Case in point is of Eric Garner[1] who got killed by NYC cops because they thought he was selling loose cigarette. This is an extreme case that got media attention but I am pretty sure NY cops harass people all the time for such laws. Everyone on HN probably agrees that marijuana ban has done more harm than good. If total ban is 1 then increasing taxes is probably 0.5 where 0 is totally unregulated. It is a step in wrong direction. And in the form of principle I would argue that it is not government's job to manipulate our opinions and values of life. Almost everyone on HN agrees that Apple should not cave in under FBI pressure. What if government increases tax on iPhones because they are encrypted ? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner#Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner#Death
- tn13 11y ago
  If I remember correctly an ordinary men got choked to death by NYC cops for suspicion of selling cigarettes on streets. Not only that death became an icon of sort for police brutality and racial tensions, it also underlined how many lives the law probably has destroyed. I am not even sure if that is trade-off I would like to make. In countries like India it is even worse. Increased taxes on mass manufactured cigars means more and more people take to hand made cigars which are far worse than nicotine as they give out lot more of CO.

Tax to alter people's behavior ? That never ends well for anyone.

by tn13 11y ago

Tax to alter people's behavior ? That never ends well for anyone.

skyyler 11y ago

I'm pretty sure that cigarette taxes have made more than a few people quit smoking.

distances 11y ago
Also, many countries tax alcohol heavily to keep the consumption in check. The topic can be debated, but it does have a direct positive effect on public health, domestic violence, and untimely deaths.
- tn13 11y ago
  But does that factor in the untimely deaths because of moonshine, smuggling and higher compliance cost for those into alcohol business ?
LanceH 11y ago
Like Eric Garner.
refurb 11y ago
What percentage of the decline in smoking is due to taxes and how much to health education?
- DanBC 11y ago
  I'd be interested to know. People know that "smoking is bad and increases risk of death", but most people have no idea just how bad or why. The public health message of "smoking is harmful" hasn't changed much over the past twenty years. The amounts of tax and the prohibitions on smoking in public buildings have.
- tn13 11y ago
  Also add to it the compliance cost of various cigar related laws and problems it has created for otherwise perfectly normal citizens who probably don't even smoke. Case in point is of Eric Garner[1] who got killed by NYC cops because they thought he was selling loose cigarette. This is an extreme case that got media attention but I am pretty sure NY cops harass people all the time for such laws. Everyone on HN probably agrees that marijuana ban has done more harm than good. If total ban is 1 then increasing taxes is probably 0.5 where 0 is totally unregulated. It is a step in wrong direction. And in the form of principle I would argue that it is not government's job to manipulate our opinions and values of life. Almost everyone on HN agrees that Apple should not cave in under FBI pressure. What if government increases tax on iPhones because they are encrypted ? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner#Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner#Death
tn13 11y ago
If I remember correctly an ordinary men got choked to death by NYC cops for suspicion of selling cigarettes on streets. Not only that death became an icon of sort for police brutality and racial tensions, it also underlined how many lives the law probably has destroyed. I am not even sure if that is trade-off I would like to make. In countries like India it is even worse. Increased taxes on mass manufactured cigars means more and more people take to hand made cigars which are far worse than nicotine as they give out lot more of CO.