"Jerry Brown Proposes Taxes on Junk Food, Alcohol"

Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode XCIII

Out of the depths of the backlog — former Calfornia governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown says the Left Coast can fix its problems by... wait for it... raising taxes on ordinary people, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal, Dec. 20, 2003.

Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown has suggested one way the state could generate more revenue and solve its budget woes is to levy taxes on unhealthy behaviors such as drinking and eating junk food.

In an interview Thursday, Brown said “there are a number of activities” that could be taxed and suggested a tax on people who eat salty and sugary foods as well as “a tippler tax on those who drink at the bar.”

His spokeswoman, T.T. Nhu, said Friday that Brown thinks “it would be beneficial to have a junk food tax” and he’s been influenced by policies in Canada, which taxes chocolate in addition to alcohol and cigarettes.

But a writer for the libertarian-oriented think tank the Cato Institute, which is based in Washington, D.C., said today that so-called “sin taxes” are a bad idea because they don’t stop the behaviors they’re supposedly aimed at halting.

The writer, Radley Balko, also said that alcohol taxes are “incredibly regressive,” falling disproportionately on the poor, as they spend a greater percentage of their income on alcohol.

Balko said politicians usually say the reason they want to impose sin taxes is to stop unhealthy behavior and he’s never before heard an elected official say, as Brown did, that the real purpose is to raise money.

“That’s a novel approach,” Balko said.

He said sin taxes do generate revenue, but he questioned the sincerity of government officials who say their real priority is stopping the behavior they’re taxing, as sin taxes usually are proposed only when governments face large budget shortfalls.

In the case of tobacco taxes, state and local governments have become addicted to the revenue they generate and would take a financial hit if fewer people smoked, Balko said.

He added that steep tax hikes spur people to buy products on the black market instead of in retail stores. Because of high taxes, the bootleg cigarette market has thrived for decades in New York City, diverting millions of dollars from lawful businesspeople into the pockets of criminals and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Balko said.

The same thing could happen in places where alcohol taxes are dramatically raised, he said.

Balko said the people least likely to stop drinking because of increased alcohol taxes are alcoholics, as they would continue to drink, and those most affected would be social drinkers and lower middle class people.

In a recent paper entitled “Back Door to Prohibition: The New War on Social Drinking,” Balko said excise taxes unfairly force all drinkers to pay for the societal costs attributable to a small number of drinkers who abuse alcohol.

Balko said Friday that Brown is part of a nationwide trend in exploring the possibility of taxing junk foods.

Nhu said Brown’s thoughts about sin taxes are “just an idea” for now.

But she said Brown thinks higher taxes in some form are needed to put the state’s financial house in order, even though Gov. Schwarzenegger believes that the state’s problems are caused by overspending and not under-taxation.

Nhu said Brown believes, “Inevitably, a decrease in taxes will lead to an increase in taxes,” as he thinks that lower taxes create budget problems that have to be fixed down the road.

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Trying to find more things to tax more people for — chocolate!?! — what a way to get out the vote, Moonbeam! If you get more (any?) influence in these matters, I'm sure you can expect a personal thank-you note from the Republican National Committee.

P.S. Isn't this kind of tax what the liberals usually deride as a "regressive" tax? IOW, it doesn't punish the rich for being rich.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 01/06/04 06:59:18 AM
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