If You Want Less Of It, Tax It.

Further proof that if you want less of something, government just needs to tax it. That goes for cigarettes, drugs, prostitution, transfats, or anything else that people consume. From the WSJ:

Politicians in Annapolis are scratching their heads wondering what happened to all those chain smokers who were supposed to help balance Maryland's budget. Last year the legislature doubled the cigarette tax to $2 a pack to pay for expanded health-care coverage. Eight months later, cigarette sales have plunged 25% and the state is in fiscal distress again.

A few pols are pretending to be happy that 30 million fewer cigarette packs have been bought in the state so far this year. As House Majority Leader Kumar Barve put it, fewer people smoking is "a good thing." Yes, except that Maryland may be losing retail sales more than smokers. Residents of Maryland's Washington suburbs can shop in nearby Virginia, where the tax is only 30 cents a pack, and save at least $15 per carton.

The Maryland pols are so afraid this is true that they've made it a crime for residents to carry two packs of cigarettes that weren't purchased in the state. In other words, the state says it's legal to smoke, so long as you use cigarettes that the government can tax and thus become a financial partner in your bad habit. But if you dare to buy smokes across state lines, you can be fined.

Members of Congress, please take note. Democrats are planning one more pre-election go at a $35 billion children's health program expansion (S-chip) funded by a 61-cent per pack tobacco tax increase. They justify the new levy as a "sin tax." OK, but if Americans don't start sinning a whole lot more, states and Uncle Sam are going to go broke.