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My fellow Americans, after recent tax hikes on cigarettes, alcohol, and other consumer goods I began to wonder why one very obvious vice that is extremely detrimental to society has not been targeted for increased taxation. Namely, pornograpy. Pornography is big business ladies and gentlemen, netting billions of dollars every year. How Big Is Porn? - Forbes.com
Sex sells, and Americans are buying it at record levels every year. Now you may be saying, "So what, if you like porn then that's your right" And nobody is denying that simple truth. But what I would like people to explore and understand is the very real effect pornography has on society. It is not harmless, and can be just as dangerous as any other vice Americans are prone to indulging in.
I mean think about it, pornography is often vile and always totally immoral. Wild sexual acts are recorded for the public's viewing pleasure, all the while putting extreme content within the reach of our children. These children then gain sexual education beyond their years from porn sites, mags, etc. and in turn use this knowledge to advance their own sexual exploration. Multiple partners are encouraged while no evidence of safe sex is presented to the viewer. Young minds soak up these images, and then practice them on their own. Leading to the possibility of many life changing if not life ending problems.
Now all of that was simply to say this. We support taxation of cigarettes because most people view them as a nasty, dangerous habit that should be taxed. Well, I really don't see much of a difference between the two. So I would suggest an increase in taxes paid on pornographic material. I am sure it will do nothing to help the problem porn presents, but neither will taxing cigarettes and beer. I just feel like we should be fair about these types of luxury taxes, and spread them to all of our vices instead of a select few. Now, what do you all think?
Impossible to tax as you would cigarettes, booze etc as it doesn't need a physical medium to be distributed. A tax would kill the brick and mortar stores that sell it which are probably doomed anyway. Online retailers could simply move their servers offshore outside the reach of the U.S. government.
Reads2much, here's what I'd like to know: what wouldn't you propose taxing?
Well, let's see. This would be the first time I can actually remember proposing a tax of anything! But as I said in the OP, I personally don't see that much of a difference between the porn industry and the cigarette industry. My proposal was meant to bring attention to the obvious vices being ignored by politicians while they attack other vices. If it were up to me, there would simply be an equal sales tax on everything and that would be the extent of taxation, period. But since so many choose to support an attack on singular items such as beer and cigarettes, I thought why not throw in another one of society's dirty little habits. As far as a direct proposal against an item of taxation, I would have to go with the income tax.
Do any of you at least agree that pornography is a blight on our society as a whole?
No - blight is way too strong a word. I suspect, in this world, less people are killed in the name of porn than in the name of religion. As long as we are talking about consenting adults, I am ok with porn. I am not a fan of porn but also do not care about societies like Saudi Arabia where there is excessive regulation of morality in the name of religion. This seems to be a morality tax.
Last edited by calmdude; 04-10-2009 at 05:03 PM..
Reason: added last line
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