Pot tax would bring california $1.4 billion in revenue. (car rental, rentals)

[esmith143]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

Haha, do you think it's like growing a flower?

Maybe not like a flower, more like a vegetable, a tomato, perhaps ... I've seen tomatoes grown from seeds in a far harsher climate than California. I have a couple of foot high avocado plants on my balcony right now, grown from seed.

It's tricky to grow things indoors, for sure ... but if pot is decriminalized, you can plant it outdoors, and you don't have to hassle over cloning because seeds would be dirt cheap. Downside: only one harvest a year. Upside: you don't have to mess with lighting and timers and run up your electric bill.

[BacktoBlue]

YouTube - Auto-Tune the News #12: weed. lesbian allegaytions.

[Voyageur]

Originally Posted by impala666

Perhaps people will just buy illegal drugs with no tax just like they do now?????

Yep - people will continue to buy illegal, untaxed drugs. But when it comes to marijuana, they'll mostly be buying legal, taxed marijuana. Just like most of the alcohol people buy is legal, taxed alcohol.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by Voyageur

Yep - people will continue to buy illegal, untaxed drugs. But when it comes to marijuana, they'll mostly be buying legal, taxed marijuana. Just like most of the alcohol people buy is legal, taxed alcohol.

If you were to tax it then you would have to make it legal. If you make it legal then everyone could grow it. If everyone is growing it then the value of the pot comes down and the amount that could be earned in taxation comes down with it. Now what we have is a supply and demand market. With few legal supplies the cost is high. When you open up the market the value will decline. I don't ever see the numbers happening in taxation that they claim will happen if it is ever taxed. The other problem is that it is a federal issue so will not happen anyway.

[Voyageur]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

If you were to tax it then you would have to make it legal.

Hardly - marijuana has been taxed in the United States since 1937. Some people even collect the tax stamps.
Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you make it legal then everyone could grow it. If everyone is growing it then the value of the pot comes down and the amount that could be earned in taxation comes down with it. Now what we have is a supply and demand market. With few legal supplies the cost is high. When you open up the market the value will decline. I don't ever see the numbers happening in taxation that they claim will happen if it is ever taxed. The other problem is that it is a federal issue so will not happen anyway.

Actually, this thread quotes $1.4 billion annually in California; that comes out to roughly $37 per capita. And that's the equivalent of the taxes paid on 20 packs of cigarettes in the state of California. Considering that a regular tobacco smoker will smoke hundreds to a thousand or more packs per year, it doesn't seem to be an extraordinary claim that by slapping an equivalent tax on marijuana that it could generate up to $1.4 billion in revenue per year.

But I certainly agree that the calculations would have to be on a projected legal - though still regulated as are tobacco and alcohol, for example - product.

The savings on not arresting, jailing, trying and incarcerating people for having marijuana strikes me as far more significant, however.

[native56]

Pot tax is chickenfeed.

Legalize prostitution. Then tax it and that will bring in some real dough. Imagine the market. Fun seekers would come from all over the world. And look at the boon to the economy and to the tax coffers. At rates of $100-$1000 per hour women would line up for work. Especially in today's culture where no activity is to be judged. Its a sure winner. It could even relieve some of the college overcrowding as there would be no need for girls (and boys) to prepare for careers.

I say forget MJ. The few bucks it will bring in aren't worth the trouble. Support our economy and save our state with a push for legalized prostitution.

[BacktoBlue]

Prop 8 was a disappointment. This better not be! I need ma weed and the economy to be better

[native56]

Legalizing prostitution is the answer. California's population is 35 million with lots of additional free spirits arriving each year. Seems easy to expect that 1 million of that number (3%) would be interested in turning tricks for a good wage. Shouldn't a good gal/guy be able to pull in $100K/year if the legal risk were removed? That would easily produce $10K in new state taxes per worker. Do the math and you'll see that the state gets $10 billion in new tax money. Now we are talking some real money. Not the chickenfeed few bucks that hopefully come from MJ sales.

Imagine what we could do with some good promotion like the state does with the lottery. With proper web marketing the sky is the limit. And no one has to breath in that stinky MJ smoke. I say its a good program whose time has come. No one looses. Everyone wins. Give it some thought. I'll bet there are lots of people here who will like the idea.

[Dub D]

These are some stupid ideas to correct the economy. The problem isn't generating enough funds because they get plenty. The problem is they spend way more than they should. Focus on the spending and that will be the difference. Say you legalize pot and whores, they will just get use to that extra supply of tax and use that just like every other tax improperly.

Putting a bandage on a deep deep wound does nothing.

[native56]

Prostitution will bring in much more money than pot. Especially if we increase the tax on the workers. Make them pay their fair share. If they are earning $100,000 per year why can't they pay $20,000 of that in tax to the state? It' not like they are working hard to earn it. Now the numbers really add up. If just 3% of the population would start turning tricks CA would receive $20 billion per year in taxes.

Imagine the many new programs that could be funded with this money. We could finally start making some progress on things like the war on poverty.

It's a no brainer. Who could object to a huge new revenue source?