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Thursday, May 01, 2008

New Jersey Lawmakers Want To Make Fast Food A “Sin”

And then attach a “sin tax” to that sinful eating.

The sputtering economy has caused an increase in prices of many staples including gasoline, rice, ice cream, even beer. Now some lawmakers in New Jersey are considering taking food taxes a step further and install a proverbial “sin” tax on fast food. . . .

The thought of taxing a Big Mac or a Wendy’s burger came up at a New Jersey Hospital Association meeting where Gov. Jon S. Corzine was asked if it could be an option to help fund struggling hospitals. At the meeting, he reportedly called it a “constructive suggestion.”

For years we citizens have gone along with politicians as they’ve used the tax code for social engineering projects.  Rather than seeing taxes as nothing more than a way to raise revenue for the necessary functions of government, politicians have started using the tax code as a way to make people do what they want them to do.

When politicians want you to buy a hybrid, for instance, they make the sale price of hybrid vehicles deductible.  When they want you to stop smoking, they put a big, fat excise tax on tobacco.  In this manner they use the tax code to control us, and we let them when it was just greenies getting a tax deduction or smokers being hit with big taxes.

But now government, as is its wont, is expanding this use of tax code as a tool for social engineering and I don’t think many Americans are going to be happy with the consequences.  Which will make the hypocrites as most of them went along with previous taxes-as-control efforts.

I guess things are always different when the shoe is on the other foot.

Comments

For years we citizens have gone along with politicians as they’ve used the tax code for social engineering projects.

Rob, this has been going on since the founding of our country.  I’m not endorsing sin taxes, I’m just pointing out that, like property taxes, it may be bad policy but it is not a recent invention.

kbiel on May 1, 2008 at 01:26 pm

This one hangs on that edge of a slippery slope. What you’re looking at is a tax on ground beef and chicken. If this flies I doubt it would be long before this manifests in to taxes on food at all restaurants, then shortly after to tax on food items at the grocery store.

Need to keep an eye on this one.


"we should select our leaders on principle first, electability second.”

A young man whose wisdom far exceeds his years

Spartacus on May 1, 2008 at 05:25 pm

When you live near the Democratic People’s Republic of New Jersey, as I do, and listen to the daily diktats of Chairman Corzine, nothing coming from that state would surprise you.

After all, the “Garden State”, if Corzine has his way, will become the first in the nation to do away with it’s Department of Agriculture.  Go figure.


"Here lies, in honored glory, an American soldier, known but to God.”

THIS ELECTION IS ABOUT TWO THINGS: WINNING THE WAR ON TERRORISM AND SAVING THE SUPREME COURT.

pparets on May 1, 2008 at 05:33 pm
Avatar for Scrapiron

So they have bled all the can from the alchol and tobacco ( put thousands of farmers out of business) industry so they start on food. Not just fast food, it will spread to all food. We have school systems almost totally funded by tobacco taxes and now the money is going away. Lottery was supposed to make it up. That didn’t work so on to some other tax on someone else. Have they ever though of ‘cutting’ spending. Na, that would make too much sense. Got to have them multi-million dollar building for a failed education system.

Scrapiron on May 1, 2008 at 07:08 pm

It’s just another step toward the goal of having the population dependent on government “people chow” for their sustenance.

Kevin on May 1, 2008 at 07:48 pm
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