You could solve the deficit problem if you could only tax self-rightousness in this country.

Ah, the classic argument: dont tax the rich, they are holding the poor hostage. Wrong. Some smart (or decent) rich guy will keep selling his product at the same price and not raise it like the others, and all the poor people will buy from him. He makes a little less per customer, but has alot more customers. If the stingy rich people want to compete with him, they’ll have to lower their prices again… thats free market genius…
Yes, I think we can find a few millionaires out there willing to shave a percent or two off whatever they made last year….

>Quit taxing people’s pleasures.

Man I WISH they’d tax my pleasure. the CHRONIC BAYBEEEEE….. that would make it legal* You can whine about your prescious expensive cigarettes all you want, the fact is you’ll get no sympathy from those of us who have to worry about paying high prices AND going to jail just for indulging in a pleasure which no rational person could argue was even as harmful as alcohol.

Here’s the thing, friend. Smoking’s a pleasure…like drinking or gambling or wearing Manolos. And if nobody’s increasing the tax on those other bits of hedonism, why are smokers being targeted so unfairly? Because you can?

The folks who like clean air (and yes, I’m among them, I’m a Democrat after all) think that once they eradicate smokers, their job will be done. So much easier to ruin the economies of a few southern states than it is to take on, say, the entire auto industry.

Quit taxing people’s pleasures. The next one the prigs focus on might be the thing that you like to do.

It has to do with the following:

Cost versus benefit

Smoking provides no tangible benefit to the economy, it doesn’t increase productivity, it doesn’t transport or produce goods and it does cause long term damage to the individuals who engage in it – without even granting them much of a high.

Cars on the other hand, make modern life possible. Cars allow goods to travel further, and allow more people to live further from much needed resources, thus allowing larger settlements.

So pardon me why I ignore your prophesy.

129 – Excuse me but part of the healthcare problem is people with cigarett associated diseases. So, by taxing the problem to offer healthcare makes sense to me. Cigarettes kill very slowly, costing a great deal of money to prolong life….yes they need to be taxed and taxed.

Then why not tax other things at the 1000% level (10 times the cost)?

They could start with motor vehicles that is far worse in health & accident related costs. Make it so a $20,000 vehicle would be end up costing $200,000.

It is so easy for the antis to say tax cigarettes to the hilt but soon it will be their turn to pay the piper.

Comment by MaverickCoast — October 2, 2007 @ 7:25 pm

No, that’s the American dream. Or what do you think it means if someone can rise from being dirt poor in America, to being one of the world’s richest people?

You have demonstrated no knowledge of how the market works. You think it is a function of cost, which is basically a sign that you have never run a business, never looked at a business, and never actually studied business.

Indeed, you seem to be keen on ignoring the costs of providing health insurance to your workers, while hyping up the far more reasonable costs associated with simply paying higher taxes to get “free” healthcare.

The frightening model you would probably support would be something along the lines of paying 3$ for services which would only cost you an extra $1 in taxes simply on the principle of you not wanting to pay higher taxes.

Whether the government or an insurance company gets the money is irrelevant, the money is still getting paid over to somebody and if government can provide the same services cheaper, then go the government route.

http://www.ni4d.us

you get 10 people to sign up. then get those 10 people to find 10 people and youv personally got a hundred votes. just like that.

60,000,000 is no small feat but it’s not impossible. get it done. change this country for ever! free yourselves from the dictatorship we all live under!

If only we could fund SCHIP by taxing priggishness, we could buy every kid in America health insurance and a college ed.

I’m not sure how any sane person can even begin to defend our system. I guess the operative word here is “sane.”

MaverickCoast talk to someone who has used Englands healthcare don’t believe those people are having their lives interfered with or dictated to. And you think our lives are not being run by a few right now ? Are you serious ?

Do you want profit-driven corporations making decisions regarding your health? I find that a scarier thought.

BAHAHAHA, sorry, but I just had to laugh at this! Yes, the left is MUCH better, but don’t let reality bias your bias!!

Again, the price of any good is a function of the market, not overhead. If the price was a function of overhead, then the price of Nike shoes would have dropped when they began spending less on manufacturing by moving it to China.

And, again, what we’ve had for the last 6 years is a redistribution of wealth from the working classes to the wealthy. We doubled the Social Security tax in 1983 to pay for boomers’ retirements. Bush took that money and gave it to the top 2% in the form of tax cuts. Remember those paltry tax rebates? They were huge checks for the wealthy. That money came out of the Social Security fund, so it was money provided by working class people. That’s a redistribution of working class money to the wealthy, but you don’t give a damn about that because you are a moron.

You mean as opposed to a profit driven corporation? At least with government run services, you can vote out the politicians! With a corporation you’re completely screwed if they decide to!

I agree health care needs to be adressed, but the government administering it is NOT the answer! As much as you criticize the Right for their mistakes, the Left isn’t any better.
Comment by MaverickCoast — October 2, 2007 @ 7:38 pm

How do you know it isn’t the answer? Countries that have it have better health care for less money than the US does on average. Why do you hate affordable quality healthcare?

Taxes on cigarettes already is leading to increases in black market smokes and likely increase crime.