Taxes can do a lot of good. They pay for schools, parks, police and the military. But that's not all they can do. High taxes on cigarettes have saved many lives - not only the lives of people who are discouraged from smoking as much as they would if cigarettes were cheap, but also the lives of others who spend less time passively inhaling smoke.
No reasonable person would want to abolish the tax on cigarettes. Unless, perhaps, they were proposing banning cigarettes altogether - as New York City is doing with transfats served by restaurants.
A tax on sodas containing sugar has also been under consideration, by Governor Paterson among others. In view of our obesity epidemic, and the extra burden it places on our health care system - not to mention the problems it causes on a crowded New York subway when your neighbor can't fit into a single seat - it's a reasonable proposal.
But in all these moves against tobacco, transfats and sodas, we've been ignoring the cow in the room.
That's right, cow. We don't eat elephants. But the reasons for a tax on beef and other meats are stronger than those for discouraging consumption of cigarettes, transfats or sugary drinks.
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Save Life on Earth, Slap a 50% Tax on Meat
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Make meat-eaters pay
Ethicist proposes radical tax, says they're killing themselves and the planet
By Peter Singer
The New York Daily News, Oct 25, 2009
Straight to the Source
