News report from 2020.
"In 2011 parliament passed Hone Harawira's smoke-free Aoteoroa legislation. After the revolution fewer people smoked but thousands of tobacco addicts continued to drive a huge black market. Crime spread into suburbs previously unscathed. More people were exposed to illegal drugs they had formerly had no contact with.
Poverty rose, especially among children, as tobacco prices escalated. Lung cancer rates dropped but obesity-related diabetes continued to sky-rocket. In 2011, the government was forced to increase income taxes to make-up the $700 million shortfall from lost tobacco sales revenue. Taxes were increased again in 2015 and 2018 to fund additional pressure on the health system and law and order spending. Authorities also began recording fatalities due to the ingestion of impure or contaminated tobacco.
A Royal Commission was established last year to review the financial and social costs of tobacco prohibition. Its report is due to be published later this year and is likely to lend weight to an ACT private member's bill to repeal prohibition legislation."
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8 comments:
As I see it, the loss in revenue from cigarette sales isn't that real - a substantial amount of it is actually coming from the welfare-money-go-round: They pay out welfare to beneficiaries, and get it back in the form of tax on cigarettes.
So should there be a commensurate cut in welfare payments, spam?
Probably - but that would be a bit unfair on those that use their welfare for constructive purposes. And secondly, I'd suspect that a reduction in welfare payments wouldn't result in a reduction on spending on cigarettes for beneficiaries. More likely, they would cut-back on things that would mean children and family etc would suffer.
I guess things like foodstamps etc in lieu of welfare payments are seen as unworkable - pity that, as it propogates the welfare cycle. Too many people consider it "their" money, and as such, "they" shouldn't be told how to spend it.
So there would be a shortfall in taxation revenue of around $842 million (Y/E June 2005 revenue)
Ah - sorry - I was comparing the wrong time-frame - I thought you were referring to "So should there be a commensurate cut in welfare payments".... NOW.
Yes there SHOULD be a cut in welfare payments, but, I agree, there won't be - you are right in that there would be a tax shortfall.
Well, we manage to struggle through with these sorts of effects from the current list of illegal drugs, so why would Hone Harawira imagine we couldn't add one more to the list with impunity? I guess making the list of banned drugs shorter rather than longer was an option too sensible for a man of Mr Harawira's qualities to grasp.
I too will be outside the school gate the first day of the ban seeking to addict as many kids as possible to become my customers as the profits will be huge and worth going for....thanks nanny state! ;-0
Regards
Drug dealer...inspired.
Very pretty design! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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