Regressive taxes/sin taxes and progressive paternalism

[Thunderbird is the word]

Are something that's always annoyed me. I can't stand it when they raise taxes on cigarettes or tie gambling revenue to education. It's paternalist as hell and just creates something for conservatives to brow beat progressives with when in reality it's about as faux-progressive as you can get. Really everything should be funded through taxing the rich.

I also just have a libertarian stripe on personal freedom issues and oppose restrictions on smoking except for in areas where second hand smoke directly effects others. I understand that it's a somewhat contradictory position since I also favor single payer health care but i'm also not a fiscal conservative and am fine with tolerating some waste in the system.

Discuss

[Intell]

Taxes a good, and can be used for every purpose including desired behaviour, and for health reasons.

[dead0man]

Taxes a good, and can be used for every purpose including desired behaviour, and for health reasons.

Then shouldn't smokers be due some extra medical financial help?  If the tax was for health reasons, then cig taxes should go into some sort of fund to help pay for smoking related health issues.  Does it?  Or it "it's for health reasons" just something upper class non-smokers say to make them feel better about taking money from poor people?

[Clark Kent]

I don't mind sin taxes. They're the only kind of taxes that I'm perfectly okay with raising.

[Intell]

Taxes a good, and can be used for every purpose including desired behaviour, and for health reasons.

Then shouldn't smokers be due some extra medical financial help?  If the tax was for health reasons, then cig taxes should go into some sort of fund to help pay for smoking related health issues.  Does it?  Or it "it's for health reasons" just something upper class non-smokers say to make them feel better about taking money from poor people?

Well it should, but if it does or does not is a different thing.

[angus]

I can't stand it when they raise taxes on cigarettes or tie gambling revenue to education.

Tie cigarette tax revenue to medicine.  Gambling revenue to education.  Auto and fuel taxes to road and bridge expenses.  If you're smoking, you a more expensive fix.  If you're gambling, you remind us of the need to understand probability theory, and if you're putting potholes in the road, then you chip in on their repair.  Makes sense to me. 

Of course, those alone won't fund schools, hospitals, and highways.  Sure, we also need to collect money from other sources, at least if we want nice things.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

I can't stand it when they raise taxes on cigarettes or tie gambling revenue to education.

Tie cigarette tax revenue to medicine.  Gambling revenue to education.  Auto and fuel taxes to road and bridge expenses.  If you're smoking, you a more expensive fix.  If you're gambling, you remind us of the need to understand probability theory, and if you're putting potholes in the road, then you chip in on their repair.  Makes sense to me. 

Of course, those alone won't fund schools, hospitals, and highways.  Sure, we also need to collect money from other sources, at least if we want nice things.

I think what Zen means is that, like state lotterys (-ies?), state legislators estimate how much money will go to education from these taxes and then cut that amount from regular appropriations, thus education doesn't get much of a boost; if the revenues come in under projections, then education funding suffered.