Posted by
Steve on Thursday, December 18, 2008 8:45:58 AM
Coming to your pocketbook some time soon, you will soon see new “sin” taxes like the ones in New York. New York implemented 88 new "sin" taxes on food and drinks to raise money. These “sin” taxes are on anything that has any chance to make you fat. Sin taxes have always meant taxes on things like alcohol and tobacco. These sin taxes are on things that liberals believe might make you less healthy. Where will it end?
We are on a trend for mommy government. The government is supposed to take care of us no matter what. So, if the government is supposed to take care of us, the government should then look out for our welfare in the form of our health. What better way to look out for our health than to put a tax on the things that will make us less healthy. It also increases the income to the state, which is the main reason for the taxes by the way. Looking out for our health is just the justification used to put those taxes on us.
Right now, these new “sin” taxes are only in New York. If they get accepted in New York, you can expect to see them show up in your state soon. Governments are always looking for new things to tax and New York took the leap to taxing things that were bad for your health. If there is a big revolt in New York over these taxes, the chance they will be implemented in your state is low. Now, the taxes will first be implemented in the liberal states and the states with the worst financial problems. Those are usually the same states by the way. Eventually, they will spread to all states as the idea takes hold across the country. So do not think that because your state is controlled by Republicans that you are immune from this type of tax. If your state gets into financial trouble, they will look to this as a way to increase income without increasing the income tax.
We might even see national “sin” taxes if Democrats ever want to balance the budget. With the huge margins the Democrats have in both houses of Congress, there would be nothing to stop them. This would not be an issue that the Republicans would likely go to the mat to stop so the filibuster is probably out the window. They have to save that for the truly monumental issues or the members will start to lose party discipline. Once party discipline ends, the filibuster ends because of the razor thin margin we are working with. This is why it is important to have people you can trust in elected office instead of Democrats.
Once these sin taxes get implemented there is little chance they will ever be repealed. There is just too much to appeal to a politician to ever repeal the tax. It is easily justified as looking out for your health. Everyone wants everyone else to be healthy so who could object. No, the only chance to stop these taxes is now. The only place to fight the taxes is in New York. Those of us outside of New York have to watch and see what the people of New York do. If they stand up and fight, there is hope for the rest of us. If they lie down and take it, we are doomed to be taxed like them. I am not saying that if New York accepts it today that we will get this tax in Arizona tomorrow. What I am saying is that if New York accepts it within this year or two, other states will see their opportunity. They will also implement this new sin tax. Then other states will adopt it and that process will continue until all states have these new sin taxes. This will happen over probably ten years or so. But, if New York does nothing today, we get the same treatment some time in the future.
I believe in smaller government. I believe that government needs as little money as possible. The federal government was authorized to do certain things by the Constitution. That is what the federal government should stick to doing. Everything else is left to the states. That would mean that at least half of the federal budget is not needed. It is probably more like two thirds of the federal budget that is being spent outside of the bounds that the Constitution authorized the federal government to spend money on. The Founding Fathers had it right. We have it wrong. We are headed in the wrong direction and I see no way to stop the train. I fear that we will lose the country very soon, if we have not lost it already.