The new paternalists advocate using excise taxes to discourage “undesirable” behavior and to offset costs imposed on third parties. But using tax policy to socially engineer behavior gives rise to another social pathology: wasteful political entrepreneurship.
Sin Taxes and Sindustry
Revenue, Paternalism, and Political Interest
By Adam J. Hoffer, William F. Shughart II, Michael D. Thomas
This article
appeared in
the Summer 2014 issue of The Independent Review.
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(18 pages)
Economic PolicyEconomyFederal Tax PolicyGovernment and PoliticsLaw and LibertyPolitical TheoryPublic ChoiceRegulationTaxesTaxes and BudgetThe Nanny State
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