tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437006.post4062164034632679011..comments2024-02-15T03:29:30.431-06:00Comments on Rome of the West: Taxing the EssentialsMark S. Abelnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692448528819277158noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437006.post-68178111945793093852009-03-14T07:06:00.000-05:002009-03-14T07:06:00.000-05:00Irene,I have no formal training in photography (al...Irene,<BR/><BR/>I have no formal training in photography (although I have tried to learn from the masters). I do have formal training in economics.<BR/><BR/>I used the general economic phrase "price elasticity of demand" to differentiate between goods that are luxuries versus "essentials", and I noted that luxuries cannot be easily taxed because the demand for them go down sharply with cost. Other goods can be taxed very highly, and these goods typically are essentials.<BR/><BR/>I use the term "essential" loosely, in a subjective manner, which includes both salt, which is absolutely essential for survival (and is indeed the historically most taxable substance), and addiction products like tobacco and alcohol.<BR/><BR/>My thesis is that taxes on the "low elasticity" goods are designed to produce government income, and claims that the taxes are intended to reduce demand are largely (although not completely) unsupportable. Aggressive taxation on these kinds of goods, I claim, will lead to poverty and crime.<BR/><BR/>Yes, you are right that women continually go to jail for traditional crimes, but my friends tell me that these crimes now are increasingly spurred on by gambling debts. Sociologists will need to do more surveys to determine the effect of gambling on incarceration. <BR/><BR/>I am also against strict sentencing rules in the courts, even though I don't like the kind of judges we now tend to have.<BR/><BR/>I've voted against the re-legalization of gambling in Missouri every time it came on the ballot, including the very first step of legalizing church bingo. Gambling was legal in the state twice before, and both times it led to widespread poverty, and it was reintroduced by government for the purpose of taxation.<BR/><BR/>The industry and the State shrewdly pursued an explicit Fabian (or delaying) method of reintroducing gambling, slowly and by steps; at each step, problems were discovered, or appeals to freedom were made which led to the next step of liberalization.<BR/><BR/>Church bingo gambling is relatively benign compared to loss-unlimited casino gambling. There is a vast difference in degree in the opportunity for loss and poverty. Just as there is a difference between having a glass of wine a day versus a pint of whiskey a day, simple fund-raising gambling (done rarely and at small cost to the gambler), is far different than huge 24-hour a day casinos with no loss limits.<BR/><BR/>Greed is a common vice. In my opinion, we need to organize society, including the State, to minimize the effects of this vice, which includes making government and economics smaller and more local. The effect of the Enlightenment is far-reaching and is something I'll write about later.<BR/><BR/>And thank you very much for your compliment!Mark S. Abelnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06692448528819277158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9437006.post-72124857511789208942009-03-11T20:38:00.000-05:002009-03-11T20:38:00.000-05:00Mark, you are a great and wonderful architectural ...Mark, you are a great and wonderful architectural photographer. But sociology is not photography.<BR/><BR/>For example, do I really understand you correctly? Are you saying gambling and alcohol are essentials?<BR/><BR/>Please -- we both know the Catholic Church is one of the most familiar purveyors of the ancient practice of gambling (bingo, festivals, raffles, etc.). Should we prohibit these activities by churches? Or only when they are operated by Native Americans?<BR/><BR/>You say liberal politicians and capitalists both are greedy. Is this news? What group -- or person -- is not greedy?<BR/><BR/>Are these not rather old-fashioned sins, extensively and adequately treated by the church fathers? What has the (much later) enlightenment to do with them?<BR/><BR/>As for jails, now you are in my ballpark (I spent a long career there). Yes, incarceration rates and numbers are skyrocketing in the US. But gambling is a vanishingly small contributor. Most of the women in our prisons are there for the old traditional crimes -- drugs and offenses related to prostitution. The numbers are increasing simply due to increasingly draconian sentencing laws. If we want the numbers down, go back to the pre-1975 laws.<BR/><BR/>Mark, please take some more church photos. They are beautiful, and I really appreciate them.irenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17962225409443023414noreply@blogger.com