BCT Editorial – 9/29/09

This page was last updated on September 29, 2009.

Smoked out; Editorial; Beaver County Times; September 29, 2009.

This is a follow-up to “Dirty work.” As a bit of trivia, the Times usually uses the title “Smoked out” for editorials opposing smoking on private property.

The editorial asserts the proposed taxes “are making it more costly for parents to take their children to the zoo …” True, but the editorial failed to note a negative effect on these activities and all others is true of all taxes – general or specific, direct or indirect (So-called “business” taxes are an example.) That’s because all taxes decrease the disposable income/wealth a family can spend on any activity. It’s even true for the taxes this editorial wants enacted.

Regarding the taxes this editorial endorses, we appear to have yet another head-spinning moment from the Times editorial board. In “Sin taxes” (5/24/09), the Times wrote, “But there’s a disturbing trend here — the growing reliance by politicians on sin taxes to underwrite government programs. Smokers and users of other tobacco products have been targeted as a source of revenue by federal, state and local politicians for years. For politicians, this is a relatively easy tax call. While smokers might be outraged over the increases, the vast majority of non-smoking Americans are overwhelmingly indifferent to their plight.” Apparently the “disturbing trend” was disturbing only for four months until the Times needed some taxes to promote.