A significant portion of the citizens of America, have a propensity to want to spend part of their money upon vices, of all sorts, such as prostitution, illegal drugs, lottery tickets, gambling, and alcohol, in which revenues are thus collected for the government through an implemented excise tax by the respective Federal and State authorities upon those vices which have been legalized within America and are subject to that tax. The thing is, though, while it is estimated that billions of dollars are collected by those Federal and State agencies upon those vices which have been legalized and regulated, there is a significant portion of monies, of the illegal drug trade, along with prostitution, and various other vices, in which, because these are not legal or have been ignored, aren’t taxed at all.
The first mistake that this government makes is that when a certain percentage of the population, for whatever reason, indulges in vices such as illegal drugs, and of which, the policing arm of the state, seems incapable of interdicting such to any meaningful extent, is that, not only will this type of illicit business continue, but because this underground economy, isn’t taxed upon the revenues that they are so generating, which probably amounts to billions upon billions of dollars, what we so have, is the tax paying public being stuck, then, with the considerable expenses so generated to police such, without much benefit incurring to that general public, which thus amounts to being the second mistake,
Whether or not this government, desires to continue to put together well-meaning but simple messages, such as “just say no,” or whether this government, will admit that after fifty years of futility in a drug war, which has been an unmitigated failure – that logically then needs to be answered with some sensibility, is that it has to be admitted that we are at that decision point, of which the decision to be made seems pretty straightforward. That is to say, it would probably behoove this government to decide to legalize and then to regulate a significant portion of the illicit drugs so being currently consumed within America, and then to subject such to an appropriate vice tax – much as we have so seen with legalized marijuana in specific States.
The advantage of adding more items subject to vice taxes, is first of all, the added revenue from the updated list of those vices that these people so indulge in, and the second benefit, is that by legalizing that which is current illegal, it thus means that the businesses that manufacture and then distribute these now legalized drugs, would be subject to all the taxation as well as regulations that corporations must so adhere to, in order to do business.
Of course, there are going to be a whole lot of people, that will decry the legalizing of what they perceive to be dangerous drugs – but, what of it; for the bottom line is that whatever America is currently doing has not worked and in all probability is never going to work. So too, people’s bodies are their own, and if they so desire to utilize substances which may be detrimental to them -- seems to be by all rights, their own personal choice, and the only real question, then, is whether this government wishes to tax them for thus having that privilege bestowed upon them.