Sunday, February 05, 2006

Sin Tax Ideas

So now that Florida is going ahead with slot machines in Broward County - for only 30% of the House Take - I started thinking. This is supposed to generate something like $200 Million a year. By mandate it must go to state K-12 education. The state run lottery generates at least that much - also "to help educate the children". What else can we legalize and tax?

With the number of retirees growing every year, Florida stands to be hardest hit by the coming insolvency of Medicare and Social Security. How about...legalizing prostitution and taking 50% of the fee to help offset the cost of Medicare and Medicaid? Or we can "do it for education". Hell, legalize pot, and charge a 50% "sin tax". We could put that in a Hurricane Insurance Fund. No sense charging the taxpayers of Idaho to rebuild that condo in Panama City.

I'm really starting to get into this. Of course, living in Tallahassee, we don't even have a strip club to exploit, er, help girls "working their way through college." Hell, Houston had 20 times the population and fewer colleges, but damned if there weren't thousands of girls "working their way through college", or sometimes nursing school. I say, let's get started. Legalize prostitution in Florida! "Do it for the children"!