Tax Drink: Hurt the Poor
By Sean Gabb
(Published in The Phuket Gazette, 5th July 2014) There are two cases for taxing alcohol. The first is that government must somehow be paid for, and that drink can and should be taxed more heavily than food and books and clothing. The second is that drink is bad for us, and should be made so expensive that we buy less of it. Ignoring this first case, I will take issue with the second.
By Sean Gabb
(Published in The Phuket Gazette, 5th July 2014) There are two cases for taxing alcohol. The first is that government must somehow be paid for, and that drink can and should be taxed more heavily than food and books and clothing. The second is that drink is bad for us, and should be made so expensive that we buy less of it. Ignoring this first case, I will take issue with the second.
It is not the business of government to tell us
how to live. That is for us to choose for ourselves. We all ought to know that
drinking too much is bad for us. If some do not or will not, that is sad for
them. If they make a nuisance of themselves, let there be laws against the
nuisance. Let there be laws against being drunk and disorderly in public, and
let punishments be greater for criminals who offend while drunk. But it is a
disagreeable belief that fools can be made wise, or criminals deterred, by
treating all of us like children. It is disagreeable for the reason already
given, that we should be left to live as we please, and for the further reasons
given below. Continue
reading
