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To the Editor:
I was just reading Rex Stout's “The Red Box,” which I must have read before at least once. Be that as it may, every phrase was fresh. Who cares who killed anybody? The show is Wolfe v. Archie in their inimitable styles. I haven&rdqipt forgotten that 32 years ago I knew nothing of Rex Stout.
The Staph
(David M. Brown)
[email protected]
[ Yes indeed, those stories are a treasure for the ages—Editor ]
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Then why not:
Light 'em if You got them
In Texas a pack of cigarettes costs about $7.00. This includes Federal excise tax, State excise tax, and State and local sales tax, which includes the tax on the excise tax. Part of the reason this tax is so high is that it is partly a "sin tax," one that is charged to discourage undesirable behavior. The theory is that people will quit smoking or at least smoke less as cigarettes become more expensive.
Disclaimer, I quit smoking cigarettes back in 1992 because it wasn't fun any more. It took five years to get over the withdrawal symptoms, even though I still smoked pipes and cigars for half the time. I think a pack of smokes was about a buck fifty. to this day I enjoy an occasional bowl of tobacco or cigar.
Consumption of cigarettes has declined nationally, how much the sin tax on tobacco contributed as compared to health awareness I cannot say.
However, there seems to be a sense of agreement that high taxes on marijuana has slowed down the sales of legal marijuana. This has led to a continuing black market on cannabis in the states that have legalized marijuana. Apparently this was not the intent of these laws, it just worked out that way. Equally apparently these states just couldn't lay off a new source of tax revenue.
When Trump's tax cut got passed some states proceeded to slap on tax intended to get their hands on that money rather than let it go to private investment. I predict that political leaders from these states will complain the most about how Trump's tax cuts did not lead to economic growth. I'll even bet money these are states that have a high sin tax on tobacco and don't get why people are not buying heavily taxed legal marijuana.
A.X. Perez
[email protected]
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