A few weeks ago, I told the story of how illegal drug dealers profited by a greedy government placing regulations and taxes on legal marijuana that were so high that customers could save lots of money by buying from the illegal guys.
This was one example of the unintended consequences of government taxes and regulations.
Well, it didn’t take long to find another.
Over the last few years, cities including New York, Philadelphia and Seattle have enacted “soda taxes.” The idea is that sugar is bad for you; it causes obesity, diabetes and other diseases. But, as many suspect, the real reason these taxes are levied is a stealth way to raise tax revenue under the guise of public health.
Instead of letting consumers decide what they should purchase, governments have enacted a number of rules to dissuade consumers from buying sugary beverages. Of course, they assume that consumers would switch to drinks like fruit juice, water or products with artificial sweeteners. Silly politicians!
As often seems to happen, consumers use their noggins to avoid the higher-cost (e.g., more heavily taxed) beverages. For example, in Philadelphia the American Medical Association found that:
“Although the tax reduced the number of sugary beverages sold in the city of Philadelphia overall, more than half of this decline in sales was offset by an increase in sugary drink purchases within 6 miles outside of the city’s border where the tax was not in effect.”
The AMA also found that lower income residents paid the higher cost due to a lack of available transportation. And, retailers near city limits lost sales to stores in other jurisdictions. Not only that, but at the time Pepsi announced it would lay off between 80 and 100 workers due to lower demand.
This just in: Here’s a new twist to the unintended consequences of soda taxes. According to a recent peer-reviewed study, residents in Seattle have swapped out soda and replaced that soda with beer. Furthermore, the study found that Seattle's soda tax "induced" consumers to buy more beer.
Bet that the city leaders in Seattle didn’t see that coming!
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R.I.P. P.J.
P.J. O’Rourke passed away on February 15. P.J. was a prolific author and satirist and became known as the editor-in-chief of the National Lampoon in the 1970s. He was a contributor to the 1973 stage show “National Lampoon’s Lemmings” which helped to launch the careers of John Belushi, Christopher Guest and Chevy Chase. He was also the co-editor of the “National Lampoon 1964 High School Parody” which inspired the film “Animal House.” P.J. also wrote numerous articles as an essayist for Car and Driver magazine.
Some of my favorite P.J. quotes:
About single-payer health insurance before Obama became President: “If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.”
About soccer: “Any sport I can play with my kids while holding a beer and a cigar is ok with me.”
About climate change: “I live in New Hampshire. We're in favor of global warming. Eleven hundred more feet of sea-level rises? I've got beachfront property. You tell us up there, 'By the end of the century, New York City could be underwater,' and we say, 'Your point is?'”
About pollution: "We're told cars cause pollution. A hundred years ago city streets were ankle deep in horse excrement. What kind of pollution do you want? Would you rather die of cancer at eighty or typhoid fever at nine?"
And:
The world is a lesser place without his insightful humor.
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Shake My Head
(This was filmed in January 2022. RBG died September 18, 2020.)
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As always, well thought out, concise, & no fake news here !!! ❤🥰❤