It's Tea Time

So it's official, the tax is going through. The average price on a pack of cigarettes in New York state will now be close to $10 a pack, while in New York City it will be closer to $11.

It's obvious this "chasing money" plan for getting money from cigarette taxes will not work. As taxes increase, less people smoke, and as less people smoke, they are forced to further increase taxes. Believe it or not, eventually there really won't be enough people smoking to generate the funds our greedy government desires.

So here's the really important question that no one seems to be asking yet:

What comes next? NY state will obviously not do the intelligent thing, which would be balancing the budget without these revenues included. So how will they fill the gap moving forward?

The idea of a "sugar" tax has been floated, on things such as soda and candy bars. But honestly, people will just stop using them too.

The reason is less financial then it is societal. You see, to justify these taxes government needs to vilify the products being taxed. They need to convince people that they are bad parents if they allow their children to consume them. They need to put forth the idea that somehow you are less appealing or healthy as an individual if you consume them. Over time these silly notions have an effect, and eventually the societal pressures of your peers who have already conformed become so overbearing, or just plain annoying, that it becomes simpler for us to just find an alternative.

So even if sugar is the next target in the name of the public good, eventually a new target will need to be found. So let's think deeper here. What comes after that? It's important to consider all of this, because one thing I know for certain is that it won't end with either cigarettes or sugar.

Do you have a little guilty pleasure you enjoy, something that might be judged unhealthy or potentially damaging to the environment? You might want to start doing a personal audit of the things you enjoy in your life, and then start paying attention to politics, because you just might be the next one to sacrifice for the good of the whole.