Do you support "sin taxes"?

[ZombieHorde]

Poll question: Do you support "sin taxes"?

Sin taxes are taxes on cigarettes, soda pop, fast food, alcohol, etc.

In my polls, the silly response counts as "Other".

[bigwillq]

1. I support sin taxes

if they are added on to the cost of soda, fast food and alcohol. I don't support six taxes if it's just limited to cigarettes.

[Canuckistanian]

7. Then who gets to decide the "sin"?

What criteria should be used?

[-..__...]

12. Lets tax Pr0n and birth control devices/drugs!

Also... paper towels, hand lotion, tubers, carrots ;)

Fuck it!!! Lets just tax anything and everything that we find offensive or doesn't conform to "our" way of thinking or values.

[Canuckistanian]

16. So be it

If it offends ME, it must be banished from the earth.

But who's against carrots? They're a friendly vegetable.

[-..__...]

22. Therein lies the problem...

they can be too friendly if used other than in the manner God/Jeebus/Mother Nature intended.

Tax now... ask questions later!

[MercutioATC]

8. Why stop there?

Red meat is "bad" for you. Refined sugar is "bad" for you. Loud music is "bad" for you. Caffeine is "bad" for you. Not getting enough sleep is "bad" for you. Stress is "bad" for you. Too much sun exposure is "bad" for you. Reading in bad light is "bad" for you. Running by the pool is "bad" for you....


You really think it's ok to tax anything that's bad for you?

[bigwillq]

24. No.

But if tax cigarettes, they should also tax foods and beverages that contribute to obesity, since obesity is also a major health crisis in our country.

[MercutioATC]

48. ...and stress, lack of sleep, and refined sugar in all its forms contribute to obesity.

...as does lack of exercise.

A tax on the sedentary, perhaps?


If you're worried about health care costs, just charge smokers and the obese higher premiums.

[cboy4]

21. Why soda? That's odd.

[bigwillq]

26. It's already in the works.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124208505896608647.html

[mamaleah]

27. Oh yay.

Because God knows life is already too fun. Let's punish all forms of pleasure.

[bigwillq]

28. My point is not to punish pleasure.

I think it's discriminatory that they only tax cigs. Let's make it fair and tax other things that are just as bad for you.

[mamaleah]

29. Well it sure seems like it

Not you, personally. But those who like sin taxes.

I suppose some people won't be happy until everyone lives in a little hut eating only carrots, drinking water, and relying on their own thoughts to keep them entertained all the time.

I am truly happy those same people will never be happy.

[cboy4]

31. You're comparing drinking soda with cigarettes as being

"just as bad for you."

What!

[dysfunctional press]

57. drinking soda can be just as bad for you as smoking...

it all depends on the quantities involved.

[Muttocracy]

2. Wait, before I can vote I have to ask

Is belonging to DU sinful?

[MercutioATC]

3. I care less that they're regressive

than that they're a politically correct way of increasing taxes.

Legislators get to add to their coffers and look like they're doing us all a favor at the same time...and they aren't.

[pearl]

4. Not just NO

But Hell No!

[G_j]

5. if nicotine is at least as addictive as heroin,

what is the government doing making money off of addicts?

[Kajsa]

14. Thank you, G_j!

I'm glad you asked that question.

[G_j]

18. and without offering help to those addicts

I don't see the gov giving out patches or gum..

meanwhile tobacco companies spike their cigarettes with more and more nicotine.
something wrong with this picture..

[Kajsa]

46. They do spike their cigarettes

with more nicotine.

It's more difficult than ever
to quit smoking now.

And yes, it is one of the hardest
addictions to break, including alcohol.

Kudos to those who are able to.

[rurallib]

6. put me down for supporting the sins, not the taxes

:P

[bobbert]

9. those are all sins? soda pop, fast food?

I just thought they were unhealthy and unneccesary things to do in a daily life. I think if you can afford to do something that's unhealthy or you are too lazy to find something better that you can be doing instead, then why not have the tax. It's almost more like a luxury tax than a sin tax if you ask me.

[JI7]

33. how about if people can't afford to do something healthier ?

poorer areas usually don't have the many options you find in better areas. it's usually mostly fast food and liquor stores. i read something once about how this woman had to drive a longer distance to get to a trader joes because there were none in her area. so even if she is living in a poorer area she has to pay more in gas to get there to get the healthier stuff.

[TahitiNut]

10. Absolutely not. The notion that a tax is a PENALTY or FINE erodes responsible self-governance.

Where a net public COST (actual expenditures rather than some theoretically monetarized measure of impact) can be directly and unequivocally ascribed to the use of a product or service, it's fair to impose an excise tax strictly limited to the amount and entirely committed to directly offsetting such costs ... and absolutely no more than the most conservative and reputable measure of such costs. Thus, a gasoline tax is a fair revenue source for subsidizing streets and highways when there exists no more direct and reasonable approach to allocating such costs based on use.

[RandomThoughts]

11. Would a tax on stock transactions be a sin tax?

Under the heading of Greed, envy, or want not need? :shrug:

How about a sin tax on those that charge usury? :shrug:

How about a sin tax on taking wages that do not fit 'all things in moderation'? :shrug:

How about a sin tax if someone lies? :shrug:

A sin tax when someone doesn't love their neighbor? :shrug:

Just asking, not recommending, possible moral attitudes really can't be legislated by money.

I think sin taxes are not progressive enough, but they can be used to control how a society acts, which can be good for bad things like smoking, but I think they go to far when it is for just not best things like eating habits.

[baldguy]

13. +1

[SOS]

15. Do Wall Street bonuses count as a sin?

In that case, 90%!

[baldguy]

17. We should have more sin taxes.

How about a sin tax on pot? On gas guzzlers? On outsourcing American jobs? On using non-union labor?

We should tax corporate sins more than we do.

[tabbycat31]

59. I agree with your bottom statement 100%

[iamjoy]

19. "Sin Tax" Can Shape Behaviors

I recognize that sin taxes, like other user taxes, are regressive. However, there are certain behaviors that are harmful to society as a whole - and I mean in a more or less direct way, not some spiritual belief.

Burning fossil fuels harms our environment. One way to encourage people to drive less and choose more fuel efficient cars is to raise gasoline taxes. A less regressive way would be to slap a heavy tax on vehicles getting less than xx miles per gallon.

Diet. Why is it that so many of America's poor are fat? Does it maybe have something to do with the fact that junk food is cheap, but good food is pricey? While it is debatable whether some things are healthy or not, there are some general guidelines. If it is not a fresh fruit or vegetable but a manufactured item with more than xx grams of sugar - it is junk food. If it contains high fructose corn syrup, it is probably junk food. If it is a processed food containing more than half a day's serving of sodium in one serving, it is probably junk food. The health problems caused by unhealthy eating habits raise medical costs for us all. There is also the environmental impact of eating meat (I am by no means a vegetarian, but recognize the dilemma of eating meat).

Alcohol and smoking are both unhealthy habits.

Such sin taxes could raise revenue that would then be used to help pay for health care and to subsidize fresh, whole foods. This will help encourage healthy eating habits. We could raise cigarette taxes and put the money towards helping poor people quit smoking and helping tobacco farmers switch their land to different crops. We could use the gas hog tax to fund development of alternatives and public transportation.

Of course, it is just a cop out way for politicians to fund their budget. People want government services (no matter how much they like to say they are independent) but don't like paying taxes. So, we force our government to come up with the least unpopular taxes.

[TahitiNut]

35. Thinking that, MANY would then highly tax abortions, contraceptives, and/or bullets.

There's a very strong correlation between seeing a behavior as 'harmful' and seeing in others and not one's self.

The notion that a tax is some penalty or fine for unpopular behavior is abhorrent to me. Then again, I'm a liberal.

:shrug:

[iamjoy]

47. This Is True

and so we slide further down the slippery slope that started with taxes on alcohol and tobacco.

[napi21]

20. If we're going to tax sins, then WE THE PEOPLE should tax the

gov't payments to KBR, the purchase of weapons, the cost of Gitmo, every execution in the US, smut films....

Somebody somewhere will find a sin in damn near every product & activity if you look hard enough.

Sin taxes are nothing more than a carry over from the prudish people who landed at Plymouth rock. If WE think it's wrong or evil, you have to stop it!

[Obamanaut]

43. And it is certainly a sin the way we reelect the same congresspeople

time after time, and then complain about them all the way up to the next election, where we reelect them again.

THere should be a sin tax on voting if we keep this up.

[Hippo_Tron]

23. More than certain alternatives less than certain other alternatives

[mamaleah]

25. Well as long as its your sin and not mine.....

That's what it really boils down to, right?

I don't wish to propose my definition of sin on you, so why do you want to do that to me?

[JI7]

30. how about tax deductions for healthy foods we buy like fruits and veggies ?

[Mimosa]

32. Sin is drinking ginger ale sweetened with sugar or toxic aspartame?

I'm not fooled by 'sin taxes. Government has an endless voracious need for our money and will devise every way they can to pry it from those who aren't rich enough to keep money from them.

[obliviously]

34. Healthy tax.

I say tax people that are perfectly healthy an extra 10% to pay for health care of those of us who are less fortunate.

[Vidar]

36. Not unless the sin is "usury".

[anonymous171]

58. YES YES YES! nt

[Norwood]

37. Absolutely not

How far would we go with it? What is considered a sin? Who gets to decide?

[cherokeeprogressive]

38. No. Most "sinners" seem to be poor.

Smokers? Undereducated poor people.
Drinkers? Undereducated poor people.
Overeaters? Undereducated poor people who eat fast foods.

At least that's what I've learned in my years as a DU'er.

[Lilith Velkor]

52. Being poor IS a "sin," or so it seems

Lots of folks - DUers included - heartily approve of using the mechanisms of the state to squeeze the poor.

I guess middle-class triumphalism helps soothe the pain of getting fucked by the banks, or something.

[cherokeeprogressive]

39. A "Sin" tax implies that the morality of teh Bible is the bottom line.

Does it not?

[Thothmes]

40. I have no problems, per se, with taxes on tobacco and alcohol

but I do not believe that they should be the major source of tax revenue for critical programs like child health care or as major components of financing National health care. These programs need to be financed by direct taxes which can be counted on as opposed to taxes based on a persons habits. JMO

[and-justice-for-all]

41. There is no such thing as sin...nt

[lildreamer316]

42. ANOTHER SIN TAX: charging patrons of strip clubs an extra $5 that goes to a rape fund.

I'm all for a rape crisis fund, but I do not agree with equating strip clubs = rape. Texas is/was doing this; and New Jersey is trying to also.

Of course I figure most of DU doesn't give a crap about this issue when it comes to gentleman's clubs, but I thought I'd mention it.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

51. Yeah, that's ridiculous -- I saw that on the news recently here

I think there should be taxes on stuff with high-fructose corn syrup. I think taxing it will cause companies to start using real sugar again.

Strip clubs? Not so much.

[lildreamer316]

55. Oh, I could so go with that!

Just 'cause I'm so damn tired of all the HFCS.

[Obamanaut]

44. These "sin taxes" don't "mostly hurt" any group more than another

unless that group is buying something they cannot really afford. If a family/person cannot afford the tax on cigarettes or alcohol, those items should not be placed in the grocery cart.

My income would not allow me to buy a Lexus, so now I have a paid-for Mercury, which I could afford.

[Yo_Mama]

45. Offensive, For Which I'm Sorry, But....

Listen, I am an economist. A very good one, as far as economists go, because I am one of the few who can actually tell you a few years in advance where the economy is going. That's because I concentrate on banking-level economics, which are founded on household and small business incomes and prospects.

The problem with this move to "sin" taxes is that they are incredibly regressive. This entire move is really a way to avoid raising income taxes progressively, and to the extent that it is supported by the Democrats in Washington, is only a way to pretend to be for the lower income people while catering to the more wealthy.

Our problem is that we have - as a nation - promised too much to various groups while avoiding the issue of how we are going to pay for it. This is profoundly cynical politicking, and it will carry a huge backlash.

Why, exactly, should parents in a household with 40K in income a year and two kids be paying more for soda while parents in a 60K household with two kids get funding for their kids' medical insurance? A segment of the Democratic party has been captured by elitists who either don't know or don't care about the real problems of most of the people in this country.

Everyone deserves some pleasures in life. For one darned moment, please put yourself in the position of some family living in the vast spaces of American non-urban territory. Maybe you are making 35K a year, on which you are trying to support dependents. One moment you are criticized for driving to work, but heck, the only job you can get is 25 miles away, and there is no public transportation, nor can there be. The next moment you are told that the two liters of soda you buy for your kids a week is a sin? Then it's electricity which is going to be taxed (the carbon tax or cap and trade proposals are going to cost households well over 1K a year). So basically, what you are hearing from Washington is that it's your life that is the problem, and experts are jetting into Washington from their 500K homes to pontificate on this subject while you are living in a 1,200 sg ft home on an acre with a garden, listening to all of this reasoning about why you really, really need to pay another 1.5K a year in annual taxes. But it will all be okay because the Feds are going to build a few light rail systems?

The median (half below, half above) household income in this country is still around 50K. There are a tremendous number of people raising kids or caring for parents with lower incomes. Most retired people on pensions/Soc Sec have seen their pension income drop considerably over the last 5 years because of increases in basic living expenses such as transportation, utilities and food. Most non-government wage earners have experienced similar collapse in their effective earnings.

The reason politicians like sin taxes is because sin taxes don't really matter to the households that in their hearts, they think do matter - households with incomes of 75K and up. But the other households do matter - they matter MORE, because there are far more of them.

The effective subsidy of upper middle class and above households in this country over the last 20 years has been massive. They are the ones benefiting from most of the IRA/401K/muni bond tax breaks. This has shifted the tax burden in a very regressive fashion, and part of today's bad economy is due to the slow, continuous erosion of real median household incomes.

Private sector wages and benefits are continuously declining in comparison to government wages and incomes. If you are earning enough to save the money, you can buy no AMT muni bonds and pay NO INCOME TAX at all. That's how people like the Kerrys manage to pay such low income taxes. Where is the justification?

To fix this problem, we have to widen the tax base. People who have large amounts of capital in tax-sheltered categories are the people who can pay more taxes without too much pain. It is our tax code which is killing us. To get out of this fix the US needs to lower corporate income taxes, cut all the special tax benefits for corporations, and deconstruct the ridiculous edifice of tax shelters for the wealthy individual taxpayer.

Oh - one thing Bernie Sanders forgot to mention when he said Finland was such a paradise. The top Finnish corporate tax rate is 28%, and it's going lower. We need jobs in this country. We need to pull jobs back in, and the only way we can do that is to cut our corporate tax rates to be more competitive.

If we keep on like we are doing now, in three years even WalMart will be seeing declining sales and profits. The dirty little secret of American politics over the last twenty years is that the leadership in both parties forgot how this country came to be great.

I am sorry that this post will probably offend so many people, but the truth often hurts.

[xchrom]

49. as long as we progressively raise the tax rates

on those who can afford it in other tax defered or tax free categories.

more thany other thing though amercans need a pay raise -- a serious pay raise.

and until our government fights for every job -- how is that going to happen?

if i'm making a good pay check -- i worry less about what i pay out in taxes.

[Matariki]

50. If you define 'sin' as polluting the planet or attempting to control other people.

then, yes.

[slackmaster]

53. If there were no sin taxes there could be no sin tax errors

The world would be a better place.

[abluelady]

54. I Pay Taxes On those Items

If drugs were legalized, prostitution legalized, gambling in every state legalized, those sin taxes would definitly bring in more money. And they wouldn't hit only the poor. Wonder what NY would have gotten from Elliot Spitzer in tax money?????

[anonymous171]

56. Bankers should have to pay a sin tax on their profits. nt

[citizen snips]

60. no

in fact sin tax payers should get tax rebates because of all the interest groups that try to force on us what they think is right.