A collection of thoughts and asides about life. And if I think of anything that needs to be mocked, it will show up here.
"If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way."
--Bertrand Russell
I wish everyone who reads this has a prosperous 2008.
Since readers of this blog have slowly disappeared, it is no longer worth my time doing it on a regular basis. After 3 years and over 930 posts, I find that no one is reading.
I do have readers of my other blog, Wort's Going On Here?, so I'm heading over there. I might reappear once in a while, but certainly not daily.
Thanks for reading!
posted by hiikeeba at
6:43 PM
3 Comments
I have written repeatedly that raising excise taxes to regulate behavior is a bad idea. You can use those taxes as a revenue stream or you can use those taxes to stop the behavior. You can't do both things.
Recently, the State of Texas raised excise taxes on cigarettes to $1 a pack to help fund education. The state reported that cigarette sales didn't decline as quickly as anti-smoking advocates had hoped, and had generated $244 million more than predicted.
What do the neo-prohibitionists say? The cigarette tax is a solid revenue stream and some of the income should fund cessation programs.
That the solid revenue stream should be pared down? Eventually, there will only be one or two smokers in the world, and they will be expected to fund education, smoking cessation programs, and children's health insurance. That way, no one else has to pay for it.
The only way that kind of tax will work to fund every desirable government program is if the government requires that everyone use cigarettes. And if you want to criminalize tobacco and legalize marijuana, you are an idiot. It's not about the health risk. It's about someone else's morality.
Labels: Things to think about
posted by hiikeeba at
7:48 PM
0 Comments
Did you know it was illegal for animals to have sex in public in Oklahoma City? Or to pee and poop in public? A woman was recently ticketed when two of her goats did both things in their pen on her property. Her neighborhood was recently annexed by the city and she didn't realize it. Now, she has to build little porta potties for the goats, and a goat love hotel.
Does this mean that if a bird poops on your car in OKC, you can press charges? If you see two flies fornicating, do you call Oklahoma SWAT?
Labels: neo-Puritanism, Politics
posted by hiikeeba at
8:14 AM
0 Comments
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.