The Wages of Sin

Tomorrow, April Fools Day, the Commonwealth of Kentucky begins it's plan to close the gap on it's budget shortfall. The biggest and most noticeable target are sinners: those who choose to smoke and those who choose to drink alcohol. It's a no brainer for politicians. Although many Kentuckians smoke, the majority does not. The same with people who drink, and in fact the overwhelming majority of counties in Kentucky do not allow alcohol sales of any kind. Of course, while the dry counties do not want alcohol in their counties, they crave alcohol tax revenue, well, like an alcoholic craves a bottle. Let your neighbor pay your taxes for you! It's actually a great idea for dry counties, and believe me, if I could rig a system where my neighbors paid a good portion of my taxes, I'd do it in a heartbeat, although I don't think my neighbors would be too wild about the idea.

Sin taxes have become more and more of an easy target for governments, straining to balance their budgets in this current economy. They're very convienent because they can raise a lot of revenue, while raising the ire of fewer and less influential voters. The reason for that is sin taxes are also, mostly a tax on the poor. Lawmakers reason that sin taxes are better than the alternative. Most of them say, if not for the sin taxes, they'd have to cut eduction for our children. Personally, I find it difficult to believe "education" and "children" are always the first areas they'd have to cut in a budget shortfall, but for some reason, they're always the first justification for raising taxes. Of course, some children will suffer when the sin taxes begin. Those children of the lower income parents who smoke, will have less, because their parents will have to make an economic choice, and there will be many parents who will not give up their Marlboros.

For most of those who choose to smoke and/or drink but don't want to shoulder the burden of Kentucky's budget shortfall, the answer is simple. They can choose to go to Missouri, or like me, they can choose to go and sin no more. It's not an entirely economic decision for me. I need to stop smoking for health reasons, but I'm also glad I won't be an easy mark for lawmakers who can't seem to manage OUR money and live within their means. We all know this tax will never be reduced, and in fact will continue to increase until enough people quit that they'll need to find a new sin to tax. That's why so many are pushing casino gambling in Kentucky. So more sinners can foot the bill for the rest of us. After that what's next? Now, I'm not totally against sin taxes. I just have yet to figure out a way we can tax gossips, bigots and those who bear false witness. I do need to lose weight though. Maybe the state can start taxing gluttony by putting a surtax on Big Macs.

I began my new sin free life by throwing away my cigarettes and going to see my doctor and he gladly wrote me a prescription for Chantix. With nicotine patch on arm, I drove to Wal Mart and turned in my prescription at the pharmacy. "Sorry," I was told. "We're all out! We should have another shipment in tomorrow or the next day." Guess I'm not the only reformed sinner.