Pubdate: Tue, 10 Aug 2010
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2010 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.ottawasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Michael J. McFadden
Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor

TAX SOLUTION

On Aug. 8, M. Chiviendacz disagreed that legalizing/taxing marijuana
would reduce crime. He pointed out that "Cigarettes are legal, they
are taxed and they are heavily controlled.... Yet, somehow, there is a
booming and violent criminal enterprise devoted to the manufacture and
distribution of cigarettes."

The point about the booming and violent criminal enterprise is quite
true, but it only exists because of the criminal levels of taxation
imposed on a product that would normally be quite cheap.

The government could destroy the criminals in the blink of an eye if
it reduced the taxation to something reasonable ... say a mere 100%
tax rate.

The people who encourage and feed these criminals by voting for
criminal tax rates should be put behind bars. I think all of Canada
(and the U.S., if we did the same down here) would be safer.

Michael J. McFadden

Philadelphia

(Hmm, jail people for hiking taxes? Can't say we don't like the idea
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MAP posted-by: Matt