Why I oppose Liberal Tax Policies.

[BayCityProgressive]

I am open to anyone who can explain why I am wrong but I consider myself a Leftist and not a Liberal because I do not agree with Liberal taxation policies. I oppose this "fat tax" that some liberals are supporting because I believe it does nothing but step all over the working poor. The Lower class consumes unhealthy food because it is cheaper than healthy food. By putting a tax on unhealthy food we do nothing but make life for the poor even harder instead of getting them access to HEALTHY food.Also I think we need to abolish the payroll tax and have a much more progressive income tax and heavily tax corporations who are leaving the country. Also, the sin taxes are repressive taxes that don't help anyone. People with addictions will simply pay out even more money for their drug of choice and this certainly doesn't hurt the wealthy. I think liberals pussy foot around taxing the rich and big business. Thoughts on this anyone?

[Pepperbelly]

1. who is proposing this? nt

[BayCityProgressive]

2. I believe liberals in New York

[wuushew]

3. So how do come to the conclusion that these are "liberal" tax policies?

New York has serious budget problems, the most liberal thing to do is increase progressive taxation and cut waste.

[BayCityProgressive]

5. A liberal proposed it.

Also, a tax on the poor is not progressive. I don't want this to be a flamefest I just want to know if people here support these taxes and if so why?

[Blue_Chill]

12. Sin taxes are often attributed to liberals

However I have noticed liberals very much divided on these such issues and that they are not entirely liberal. Many liberals support he idea of individual choice on all recreational substances, while others see them as a evil and want their use diminished thru taxes.

So in conclusion if one were to be honest you could not say sin taxes are a liberal thing. In this case perception is not reality.

[Cloud]

4. I agree with you somewhat

And I am a Liberal. I think we should have a progressive tax system to take some of the burden off of the poor. Also the rich will not spend all that extra money so might as well have a progressive tax system to put it to use.

The fat tax sounds kind of ridiculous. A tax on my Big Mac?

But I support the sin tax. Maybe if cigarettes are taxed and are more expensive it will discourage people from starting smoking.

[BayCityProgressive]

6. It hasn't yet though.

unless these people want to quit smoking they aren't going to quit.

[wuushew]

7. What sucks about sin taxes is that they are set for the wrong reasons

which is short-term revenue maximization and not long term extinction of the sin. Cigarettes really need to be illegal in this country since proper use results in death,(yet suicide is illegal). Also sin taxes need to be indexed to inflation so that the disincentive is maintained over the passage of time.

[BayCityProgressive]

8. I'm not really sure we need to add more substances

to the already failed drug war. Although I think it should be MUCH harder for children to get cigarettes and I think they should go through a treatment program if they are caught with them at school.

[wuushew]

9. How do you grow blackmarket tabacco?

Weed can grow in a ditch. Tabacco is the result of a very intensive agricultural process heavily supported by agriculture subsidees. Outlawing domestic tabacco would cause its extinction very quickly save perhaps imported cigars.

[BayCityProgressive]

10. I don't support

adding more to the miserable war on drugs failure. Pot is illegal and what has that accomplished?

[wuushew]

11. Tabacco and weed are not comparable

See post #9

In explaining the the rationale for these taxes one must look at the cost to society and public health. Since healthcare is an issue of the poor and one of public funding. The greater good trumps the unfairness in the tax, especially considering the air quality and second hand nature of smoke related injury.

[AP]

13. Sin taxes make sense to me because they're a way to

allocate the huge social costs the consumption of "sin" products create.

Basically, they just cut into the profit of the good while also decreasing the consumption of the item. Usually, the item will still have to be priced at a level at which people will buy it (not withstanding the addiction issue). So the seller is taking a hit on the profits.

But what it also does is take some of that money that otherwise would have been profit and it gives it the government to pay for the social costs the sinful item creates (like, with smoking, more hospital beads and education) or it pays for, for gambling, it would pay for the medicare and unemployment people might need if they go broke gambling. It's not great, but short of outlawing the activities, it seems to be a fairly sensible way to force the sellers (and consumers) to subsidize some of the costs they create.

[AP]

14. No liberal in his or her right mind thinks a flat tax is liberal

If you believe in progressive earned and unearned income taxation, and if you believe that sales tax is bad (except when you're taxing things which create serious social costs and you're not going to make them illegal, and you want to discourage consumption), then you're a liberal on issues of tax policy.