by Bob Walsh
Readers may remember that Seattle, WA. passed an interesting tax last year. $25 on each gun, as much as 5 cents on each round of ammunition sold. They claims this would increase public safety and earn $300,000 to $500,000 for the city to pay for the damages caused by gun violence.
That, of course, is not what actually has happened.
There is only one large guns store left in town. A second one moved just outside of city limits and is doing a great business. The remaining store has been laying off staff.
Shootings are up 26% over last year. Murders are up 100% over last year. The tax money earned from the tax is so low the city refuses to tell the media how much it actually is, but acknowledge it is a great deal under predictions.
Expecting people to continue to behave the same way when you change the rules is unrealistic, and stupid.
2 comments:
Do gooders have always tried to solve a problem by taxing the shit out of it. Never works.
Actually I do know of one time it worked. Only one. Interesting bit of history. Way back in the old days there were both Sulphur and phosphorus based matches. The phosphorous based matches were slightly cheaper, but working with phosphorous was terribly dangerous and badly damaged the women and girls who worked in the factories. This was way before Occupational Safety laws. Congress passed a tax on the phosphorous matches, pricing them out of the market. Problem solved. That is the only time I am aware of that it worked, but then again the tax was trying to destroy the industry and was being taxed.
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