The good tax

Do you know where it just got a lot more expensive to buy bottled water, beer, soda, candy and cigarettes? The home of our neighbors just over the river—Washington state.

On April 13, Washington’s lawmakers signed off on a set of taxes, one of which will raise the cost of cigarettes by $1. This was due to the state trying to close a $2.8 billion deficit.

Of course many are outraged because cigarettes are already expensive. A pack of Marlboro’s just went up from about $5 to $6. So why is this a good thing?

Increasing the price of cigarettes will reduce health risks by drawing people away from spending so much money on cigarettes. There is evidence from University of Wyoming’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Evaluation program that shows that higher cigarette costs drive down consumption. They also found similar results with alcohol. This may be why all the tobacco companies are against this price increase.

Aside from cigarettes, increasing the price of water will reduce the amount of bottled water people will buy and ultimately it will be a huge benefit to the planet because of everything that happens to plastic bottles after they are recycled.

Besides, if you think about it, it is not the end of the world if people have to buy a filter and drink tap water. Living in Portland, we are lucky that our tap water does not even have to be filtered. It is not like you have to walk five miles to get a week’s supply of water like some less fortunate people in the world have to do.

For those who complain about not being able to drink bottled water because they think it tastes better or is better for you, you should know that in 2007 the city of Cleveland proved that its water was actually healthier than Fiji bottled water. After Fiji water declared their bottled water brand was better than Cleveland’s tap water, the city ran a series of tests and not only determined their water to be just fine, but also found that the Fiji water contained 6.0 ppm (parts per million) of arsenic. The controversy proved that bottled water is no better or tastier than regular tap water.

The same thing can be seen with soda, an addictive and highly unhealthy beverage. Not only does it contain caffeine and up to ten teaspoons of sugar per can, but it also contains phosphoric acid. Ten teaspoons of sugar per can may not shock you, but that does not include the extra cans of soda you drink with dinner, and all the sugar that comes in processed food already. Why shouldn’t we increase the prices to benefit everyone from getting health problems in the future?

And if you want to pull the “it is an individual choice” card then you should know that addiction is an attachment and dependency on some thing or some place. Therefore, addiction does not necessarily mean “a choice.” That is only a general explanation but the risks of being addicted to something are so vital to consider when we are talking about increasing prices for the benefits of others.

Ultimately, although Washington had to increase prices of products to close an unfortunate $2.8 billion deficit, at least they chose the right things to tax.