EGGO

Unless it's in public places of course. I'm thankful for how many times I was able to say, "Please put the cigarrette out." As for private use though, they shouldn't be doing a thing.

Here in New Jersey, I think we have the largest tax on ciggarettes, which isn't surprising since we hold the state that holds the largest tax on everything (property,;car insurance; medical malpractice insurance; sales tax, I think; etc...)

RevDahlia

Taxing cigarettes, and using the revenues to alleviate the burden the state carries as a result of cigarette smoking, makes sense to me.

Taxing cigarettes in an attempt to force people to quit, however, is awfully paternalistic and manipulative. Cigarettes are legal. Adults have a choice about whether or not to smoke. If the Man wants people not to smoke, he should go ahead and ban the coffin nails already.

(BTW, I smoke, and I'm neurotic about not inflicting it on others. I applauded California's decision to ban smoking in bars, even. But I really, really resent being manipulated by the gubmint, even if it is For My Own Good.)

Gawdawful

explainyouranswer, you keep using the phrase "Illegitimate government function." Not true, if it is the people's will. The government, via Congress and the Supreme Court, get to define the terms of the social contract that binds us all together. In the USofA, the people are the government. If that government wants to limit freedoms, it can only go as far in limiting those freedoms as the majority of the people allow. Would capitalistic libertarianism circumvent the will of the majority? I don't think it wouldn't last very long if it did. What are the true capitalist societal models that you can point out as a success to prove the theory works in the real world dealing with real relationships between real people?


Warren

explainyouranswer

Define a "public place." Do you mean government property or private property?

Which is why democracy is dictatorship by the majority and an immoral form of government.

If the majority was trying to violate the rights of others, such as slavery in the south.

The government of a capitalist society is absolute and limited at the same time. It is absolute in the sense that it is uncompromising in protecting rights. The majority cannot decide they think it is their "right" to violate rights. It is limited in the sense that this is the governments only function, as any other function would have to logically be in violation of somebodies rights. The capitalist government with it's strong military and police force uphold these rights at all costs. If that means jailing 10 or 10,000,000 people, it is always justified.

No true capitalist nation has ever existed.

Gawdawful

So if you describe such a thing it is merely some libertopian fantasy?


Warren

lunachick

Thank god for that!

Now, what is all this "illegitimate government fuction" business, eh?

doubtingt

A number of statments in this thread suggest that many people do not realize the amount of special taxes levied on alcohol. There are Fed, State, County, and city taxes especially for alcohol. This is above and beyond the normal sales tax.
State and local taxes vary alot, but in Chicago about 20% of the price for a six pack of Bud is special alcohol tax. In other places it can be higher than 30%. This does not even include the special fees that breweries must pay to every state they sell their product in, which can be a couple to several thousand per year, per state.
It also does not include special taxes and fees that bars and restaurants pay and pass onto you in order to serve alcohol on premise.

What makes the situation especially bad is that
some of these fees are not tied to the volume produced, so small breweries with low volume are hit harder and forced to raise the cost of each six pack much more than the large breweries.

Small breweries would be a more profitable and less risky venture without all of these alcohol penalties. Thus, these policies hurt small bussiness and reduce choice.

Hard alcohol is even worse. I've seen estimates that 60% of the price of a bottle of booze is for special taxes and fees.

explainyouranswer

http://www.capitalism.org/faq/history.htm

99Percent

But is the people's will always right? After all it was the will of the Nazi German people to exterminate all non Aryans.

A government's function is to govern. Taxing cigarretes is not the act of governing therefore its not a government function. As simple as that.

abe smith

Taxing ineradicable "vices" is a damn good , profitable , easy way for gummints to raise money to pay for services. (You disapprove of gummint "services"? Start a new thread & let's bat that around...)
Unless you want to define state lotteries as addictions & vices, I think taxing addictive alkaloids may be more "moral" than many/most other forms of taxation...