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The governor here in Washington State has just introduced sin taxes for beer, wine, and liquor. I'm interested to see how this plays out and whether or not Oregon does the same to try and assuage its budget woes.
Personally, even if the cost of beer goes up thirty cents in tax I'm still going to buy it. So I don't think a sin tax necessarily discourages anyone from quitting the behavior that is damaging, but rather just raises funds for government.
Really, these taxes do little to treat the cause of the problem and they don't really address the symptoms either. No one is saying that this money will be earmarked for obesity treatment or disabled people or alcoholics or whatever. Money for these taxes is going to end up, nine times out of ten, in the state's general fund and go for things like roads, schools, etc--things we all use. Perhaps some of the funds generated by such taxes SHOULD be earmarked to education aimed at encouraging healthy eating habits or providing subsidies for organizations who do so. Perhaps some of the funds SHOULD be used in public schools to overhaul how we encourage children to participate in physical activity and eat nutritiously.
I don't mind taxes, but this is getting ridiculous. If the government could prove to me that they would put these dollars to efficient use and use some of them towards the education of the populace in healthy eating and exercise habits or supporting people in healthy eating and exercise habits, then perhaps I would support them.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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