questions...too many questions...

[acroyear]

[Concerning the recent vote in favor of Slots in MD, and the fact that 2,500 of the damned things would go to Frederick County]

As reported by The Post's Fredrick Kunkle, the [Frederick, MD] county commissioners are unified in their opposition to the "morally objectionable" premise of any government extracting taxes from its citizens' weaknesses.

ok, so how does the county feel about the cigarette tax?  the alcohol tax?  the gasoline tax?

if they really feel that way, then flat-rate the tax and sales tax across the board and lobby for the state to do the same.  otherwise, any luxury tax or "vice" tax constitutes a hypocracy.

Note: though I don't live there, i'm against the slots in principle; but i feel that the arguments against them should be more carefully worded so as to not fall into such logical fallacies or hypocritical contradictions.  On logical fallacies, though, I think the arguments against slots don't fall necessarilly into the "slipperly slope" fallacy (even when they share the appearance of) in that the signs of their negatives are easiliy referenceable  from history and from MD's neighbors.

Comments

[rsteachout.livejournal.com]

Having listened to the slots debate for the past 3 years (I'm against them), I think the commissioner's statement should have been more clear. What he should have said is they are opposed to extracting revenues from it's citizens' weaknesses, not extracting "taxes." The difference between revenue from slots (and the lottery, and scratch-offs, which I also don't think the state should be running) and the "sin taxes" you mentioned is that revenue from the gambling enterprises comes from *encourageing* behaviour that is "morally objectionable" while the so-called sin taxes are meant to *discourage* undesired actions and behaviours.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

a valid distinction, though i don't think the "sin-taxes" have actually been that successful at discouraging things (and i'm guessing you don't either). smokers come up with the money, one way or another, like all addicts tend to. the ones that quit over the money were trying to quit anyways.