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Affordable Care Act co-creater Ezekiel Emanuel, MD PhD, health economist Victor Fuchs, and Peter Orszag, former OMB director all have stated that the increased

Affordable Care Act co-creater Ezekiel Emanuel, MD PhD, health economist Victor Fuchs, and Peter Orszag, former OMB director all have stated that the increased state Medicaid costs caused by the ACA have lead to less funding for state funded public higher education. Thus, the ACA leads to even less funding for higher education. Most developed countries that have universal care (eg, Canada, UK, France, ...) have high tobacco taxes to help pay for health care. The taxes help to pay for the increased health care costs of smokers while also helping smokers to quit. Our Federal tax is $1.01.

antisthenes 10y ago
In the case of the US, stopping the sugar subsidies and perhaps even taxing it more might be a good start. It seems like overall a reduction in sugar consumption will be a net benefit when you take into account reduced health expenditures, considering the obesity epidemic.
rebootthesystem 10y ago
Using taxation for behavior modification is wrong. The public is helpless and powerless in going up against the sheer horsepower government can deploy to force you to pay taxes or adopt the behavior they want you to start, quit or modify. This idea of taxing anything we can pull out of our asses is perverted in so many ways. Tax pencils so people use less paper? Sure. Tax bank ATM transactions so people do more online? Why not. Tax anything we can imagine at any time. I have a very fundamental problem with this idea of taxing whatever the fuck politicians can imagine because it leads to more waste, misuse and more control of the people by government. Case in point: One of my favorites is the County of Los Angeles Business Property Tax. What do you think this is? You think "property tax", it must be tax on a building you own. Wrong. This is a tax on EVERYTHING you have inside the building. Any property the business owns, is taxed. Property? Yes, your desk, stapler, photocopier, chairs, coffee machine, tables, printers, computers, projectors, etc. Even tenant improvement costs are considered "business property" and fall under this tax. And you get taxed on this crap FOREVER! So, you bought a desk, paid state sales tax when you did and now you get to pay the County of Los Angeles a small annual tax on that desk in perpetuity based on the value of the desk every year. Do you have a factory full of CNC machines and sophisticated manufacturing equipment? Pay up! Do you have a small tech company with a couple of dozen cubicles and nice computers? Pay up! It's sick. Truly sick. We are being taxed to death from every angle. Very soon they are going to install a fart meter in every chair and find a way to tax your farts. Where does the money go? Who knows. As I said, truly sick.
- robotresearcher 10y ago
  > Where does the money go? Who knows. Here you go: https://www.lacounty.gov/residents https://www.lacounty.gov/residents This is such outrages as Parks and Rec, libraries, the Sheriff's Office, County Jail, providing basic services to 1m unincorporated LA residents, etc.
  - rebootthesystem 10y ago
    You misunderstood (and I didn't do a good job of stating my position). I am NOT saying that taxation is wrong or that we should not pay taxes. We have to pay for the cost of running everything you listed and more. What I am saying is that waking up every day to a new tax on something else someone pulled out of their ass is wrong. And that using taxation to influence behavior is also wrong. One tax. That's it. Clean. Clear. Transparent. Full accountability. Things have devolve to the point where nobody can truly understand how much money we are handing our government in the way of taxes. So many taxes, from so many angles. It ultimately means less money in your pocket and more government waste. They are not accountable for anything at all. And pecking at your money from a million little angles make that easier. Look at the roads in California. Now they are saying we don't have enough money and have to raise taxes. Really? Where did all of that money we pay at the pump (probably the highest taxed gasoline in the nation) go? I'll be if we look it went into ridiculous pension plans and benefits. So, they've had a party on our dime and now that the roads are falling apart they are going to make us pay for it AGAIN while they all retire on the fat pensions they got with our tax money. Government has devolved into something sick and disgusting. While we are all busy earning a living they take sweet rides on our backs. Next they are going to tax our farts just so they can throw nicer holiday parties.
- davidf18 10y ago
  Everyone who doesn't smoke subsidizes the high health care costs for those who do smoke. Thus, to not tax tobacco users to pay for their healthcare costs means an implicit tax on those of us who don't smoke. Increasing the cost of tobacco is the best way to help smokers to quit and to stop teens from starting.

antisthenes 10y ago

In the case of the US, stopping the sugar subsidies and perhaps even taxing it more might be a good start. It seems like overall a reduction in sugar consumption will be a net benefit when you take into account reduced health expenditures, considering the obesity epidemic.

rebootthesystem 10y ago

Using taxation for behavior modification is wrong. The public is helpless and powerless in going up against the sheer horsepower government can deploy to force you to pay taxes or adopt the behavior they want you to start, quit or modify. This idea of taxing anything we can pull out of our asses is perverted in so many ways. Tax pencils so people use less paper? Sure. Tax bank ATM transactions so people do more online? Why not. Tax anything we can imagine at any time. I have a very fundamental problem with this idea of taxing whatever the fuck politicians can imagine because it leads to more waste, misuse and more control of the people by government. Case in point: One of my favorites is the County of Los Angeles Business Property Tax. What do you think this is? You think "property tax", it must be tax on a building you own. Wrong. This is a tax on EVERYTHING you have inside the building. Any property the business owns, is taxed. Property? Yes, your desk, stapler, photocopier, chairs, coffee machine, tables, printers, computers, projectors, etc. Even tenant improvement costs are considered "business property" and fall under this tax. And you get taxed on this crap FOREVER! So, you bought a desk, paid state sales tax when you did and now you get to pay the County of Los Angeles a small annual tax on that desk in perpetuity based on the value of the desk every year. Do you have a factory full of CNC machines and sophisticated manufacturing equipment? Pay up! Do you have a small tech company with a couple of dozen cubicles and nice computers? Pay up! It's sick. Truly sick. We are being taxed to death from every angle. Very soon they are going to install a fart meter in every chair and find a way to tax your farts. Where does the money go? Who knows. As I said, truly sick.

robotresearcher 10y ago
> Where does the money go? Who knows. Here you go: https://www.lacounty.gov/residents https://www.lacounty.gov/residents This is such outrages as Parks and Rec, libraries, the Sheriff's Office, County Jail, providing basic services to 1m unincorporated LA residents, etc.
- rebootthesystem 10y ago
  You misunderstood (and I didn't do a good job of stating my position). I am NOT saying that taxation is wrong or that we should not pay taxes. We have to pay for the cost of running everything you listed and more. What I am saying is that waking up every day to a new tax on something else someone pulled out of their ass is wrong. And that using taxation to influence behavior is also wrong. One tax. That's it. Clean. Clear. Transparent. Full accountability. Things have devolve to the point where nobody can truly understand how much money we are handing our government in the way of taxes. So many taxes, from so many angles. It ultimately means less money in your pocket and more government waste. They are not accountable for anything at all. And pecking at your money from a million little angles make that easier. Look at the roads in California. Now they are saying we don't have enough money and have to raise taxes. Really? Where did all of that money we pay at the pump (probably the highest taxed gasoline in the nation) go? I'll be if we look it went into ridiculous pension plans and benefits. So, they've had a party on our dime and now that the roads are falling apart they are going to make us pay for it AGAIN while they all retire on the fat pensions they got with our tax money. Government has devolved into something sick and disgusting. While we are all busy earning a living they take sweet rides on our backs. Next they are going to tax our farts just so they can throw nicer holiday parties.
davidf18 10y ago
Everyone who doesn't smoke subsidizes the high health care costs for those who do smoke. Thus, to not tax tobacco users to pay for their healthcare costs means an implicit tax on those of us who don't smoke. Increasing the cost of tobacco is the best way to help smokers to quit and to stop teens from starting.